ZoidDread
by Freedom Guard
Summary: A non harem fanfiction I made previously...VanDread with Zoids...rather unusual...but hey...all for fun!
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes and introduction:

This is my second Vandread crossover project to date. I have been cooking this idea for several months actually. This is also my first attempt at making a non-harem type anime story.

I'll give you some data. Harem anime is basically about a character who may not look like it at first but, he turns out to be really talented in different departments and can score big time with girls and gets several women vying for his affections. These characters could be like: Kenshin Himura from Samurai X, Makoto Mizuharu from El Hazard, Kazuki Yotsuga from Dual, Rukawa Kaede from Slam Dunk, Hibiki Tokai from Vandread itself, Shun Ukiya from Gate Keepers, Ranma Saotome from Ranma 1/2, Tenchi Masaki from Tenchi Muyo, and other good animes.

Now personally I love this genre of animation, but I sometimes get bored with the idea, no matter how outrageously funny it is. So this is my second project to date.

In this new story I dabble with one of my favorite shows, which is none other than Zoids. Now Zoids and Vandread may seem at first not to have anything in common, but with a little changes and alterations here and there I just might fit something in.

I gathered some data from the three seasons of Zoids, those being Chaotic Century, Guardian Force, and New Century Zero. This basically takes place somewhere between the end of the second season and the beginning of the third season of Zoids, but is totally separated from the show itself.

Here we go folks, the Prologue of ZoidDread.

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: Dreads from VanDread don't belong to me, and neither do the Ligers of Zoids. But I wish they did! (Sob!)

Wanderers…

(" " ) Organoid languages

It had been several years since the final destruction of the enhanced DeathSaurer. Van Flyheight, the leader of the Guardian Force, and his Blade Liger succeeded in defeating the mammoth monster with assistance of both the Republic and the Empire's armed forces. With the preservation of the Zoid Eve and the freedom given to all the Zoids on planet Zi now meant that the metallic life-forms were now free in all aspects. Both sides rejoiced for the return of peace on all areas of their home-planet.

It had been several years since that time, that Van and his long-time love, the Zoidian woman named Fiona Alisse Lynette were married in holy matrimony in the village of Van's birth, the Wind Colony. In attendance were Irvine and his own wife Moonbay, Emperor Rudolph and his fiancée Marianne, President Camford and her son Major Rob Herman, Colonel Krueger, Van's sister Maria, Colonel Carl Shubaltz and his younger brother Thomas, Rosso and Viola the Emperor's long time body guards, Van and Fiona's long-time companion the Organoid Zeke, and most surprising of all the guests was Van's long time rival and soon to become close friend Raven and Raven's own wife Ryss and their own Organoids Shadow and Specula.

After that, long decades passed as the Empire and the Republic went on to rebuild their shattered countries and cities from the destruction caused by the renegade Zoidian warrior Hiltz and from those who aligned with the maniac.

As the years rolled on, Van and Fiona's children were blessed with special abilities, one of them was to be able to communicate with Zoids and understand them all through mental links. Raven and Ryss's own children gained those gifts as well as they grew up. The planet Zi underwent many changes over the years…

To one of those events…

"Man! Digging up these old ruins sure makes me hungry!" A young man complained as he wore the uniform of a Republic soldier and was busy eating away at his packed lunch.

"Hah, from the way I hear it Alex, you were always hungry! By the way how's your wife?" Another man asked as he rested, drinking a bottle of water.

"Mara's doing fine; she's busy taking care of the kids, including our third son, six-year-old Lance."

"Three already huh? You'll pretty lucky you know, a lot of the guys back at barracks at Mesa Seven Base were really jealous when they found out you got to marry Mara, and she's a real looker for an elite Zoid pilot. The way I hear it is, she's somehow related to the legendary pilot Van Flyheight."

"I know about that, and frankly I don't really mind that. She's really nice and kind-hearted, despite all those years with the elite forces, the time she spent there haven't removed that it seems, and I didn't marry her just because she's related to the Flyheight family."

"I know."

"Besides that, I've met Mara before…"

"Really? Where did you meet that babe?"

"Back at New Helic City, she moved there with her folks a couple of years before she joined the elite forces. Me, I was a young orphan on the streets, my parents were killed long ago, and I've lived most of my life trying to survive until I was six. Her folks found me and took me in, so I've spent half of my growing years with Mara. When I was old enough I decided to live with my grand-parents who survived out at Wind Fall City out north. I stayed there until I joined with the army."

"I see, so you've known Mara for some time now, No wonder we were all shocked when she came over and gave you a hug. We didn't know that you knew her for that long. So she really likes you huh?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah Mick, I've actually been in love with her all the time when I lived with her and her folks. And when I asked her out, I was totally caught off guard when she kissed me right on the lips!"

Mick smiled a bit as he recalled all the Evil Eye glares his buddy got when that incident happened. Some of the other soldiers were ready to kill Alex when that happened. "Yeah, talk about a whirlwind romance eh?"

"Yeah, no kidding. And since then I've been real happy with her. I mean she's a good cook, she's always smiling, she's gutsy and real intelligent, and real good at taking care of the kids. I really feel like a real lucky guy."

"You are… Well, let's get back to work!" Mick called out as he got back into his Gojula to continue excavations.

Alex sighed a bit. I've really got to thank Mara for the meal today. He got on his own Zoid as they went back to their excavations.

Alex Reinhart was a young but well talented pilot at the age of 26. He was tall at the height of 6'5 and had deep black hair and deep green eyes, which was in a long ponytail on the back. He was well built, with a lean and well-muscled frame. He had joined the Republic Army several years ago, and was an excellent pilot when it came to battles and teamwork type missions. He excelled in commanding the Shield Liger Zoid and had his own customized version of the mecha, which was in deep gray and white, and happened to be near the excavation site where he was working.

"You think that we'll really find anything else here Alex?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Rumors are that there are some really valuable artifacts here that could be really helpful, let's just hope that there aren't any bandits in this area. Mara told me that both the Empire and the Republic want the artifacts studied and away from any wise-guys who can cause some real damage with them."

"Like what? Organoids? Those creatures are really hard to find you know, plus there haven't been any sightings of those types of Zoids anymore."

"You'll never know man…"

Before anything could happen, a whistling sound of an artillery shell came out from the air.

BOOM!

"ALERT! ALERT! INCOMING THREATS ON THE SOUTHERN SECTOR!"

Alex and Mick turned to view the threat… It was a band of renegades piloting Zoids that were Rev Raptors. Even though peace was now a reality, there still some elements in the world that wanted to cause mayhem and destruction, though now they didn't have a strong leader to really give them orders.

"ALL PILOTS TO COMBAT STATIONS! BOARD YOUR ZOIDS!"

Alex and Mick along with several other pilots immediately rushed to their individual Zoids. Mick Cassidy, Alex's long-time friend in the academy boarded his own Zoid which was a Guysack Scorpion Zoid. Alex quickly boarded his Liger and began to power up his weapons and defensive shield.

"Alex! We've got to keep those bandits from raiding the ruins!" Mick shouted as he moved out alongside his comrades, who piloted an assortment of Zoids, Empire manufactured Mojulas and Republic Command Wolves.

"I hear you, okay you bandits, here we go!" Alex shouted as he charged deep into fray, with his Liger's shield online and deflecting any incoming fire from the Raptors, and coming with him were his comrades.

Alex dodged the blade scythe of one of the Raptors and ripped its right claw-arm off with his Liger's teeth. Managing to move away before the other bandits could corner him, he moved to a safer position and began to shoot missiles at the other Raptors, tossing the desert area into a battle-zone as his unit and the bandit group fought it out. Some of the Raptors were hit but they were replaced by several more of the bandits as they began to advance towards the Republic-Empire forces. It was then that one of the Command Wolves was hit by what appeared to be a sniper round.

"THEY"VE GOT A GUN SNIPER!"

Alex immediately turned his Liger around and began to search for the Zoid that took down his comrade pilot… Where the hell is he? another round was fired and one of the Mojulas was hit real hard at the side…

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Shouted the pilot inside the insect-type Zoid.

"THERE! I SEE HIM! HE'S HIDING BEHIND THE RUINS!" One of the other pilots shouted as he spotted the Raptor type Zoid, aiming at them with its Tail Gun.

"That guy must have sneaked in while his buddies were keeping us occupied!" Mick shouted as he managed to clip out another Rev Raptor.

"I'll get him!" Alex shouted as he dashed back to where the ruins were, placing his Shield Liger's barrier on full power to deflect the incoming rounds. He rushed in hoping to take down the threat before it could attack his other comrades.

Inside the Gun Sniper, the bandit screamed in frustration as he continued to fire more sniper rounds at the incoming gray and white Shield Liger, but with the barrier online and it's quick movements, it was hard to try and hit the incoming Lion-type Zoid. Gun Sniper pilots had to be expert marksmen in order to take out other Zoids, especially those that were mobile, apparently this one was only good at handling Zoids that were in deep battle and weren't going after him.

"AAARRRRGGGGHHH!"

The bandit had enough time to shout in frustration and despair, as Alex's Liger leaped in and ripped the Tail Gun right off, totally disabling the threat. Gun Snipers were effective at long range but were totally ineffective in close range battles. The other Rev Raptors suddenly stopped attacking and began to retreat, falling back slowly but were being supported by what seemed to be a Cannon Tortoise Zoid.

One shell managed to lob over the distance and was aimed at…

"ALEX! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Alex managed to move out of the way, but unfortunately the round still clipped the side of his Liger, where its shield was weaker. The Liger was tossed over its side and slammed into the side of the ruins, which then collapsed as its hidden roof gave way to the weight of the Shield Liger and the Gun Sniper…

--

"WHOA!"

That was all Alex could say as his Liger collapsed into the floor of the ruins. With a massive thud and a cloud of dust and small debris the Liger laid down on its side, causing the Zoid to eject its pilot. He was then tossed out of his Zoid's cockpit and landed on his back.

He lay there for a few moments and found his shoulder dislocated from the landing and the bruising from the explosion while he was inside his cockpit. Grimacing in pain, the young pilot stood up and began to look around, the place he was in resembled a massive hallway… he saw that there wasn't any indication of anything living in the area…

"Freeze!"

Alex turned and saw the bandit he defeated aiming a pistol at him. "You really messed up my Zoid, you Republican lackey!"

"You and your pack made the first move, we just returned it."

"Shut up! I'm going to take you as my hostage, and if you even try anything, I'll kill you!" The bandit said, still aiming his pistol right at Alex as he moved closer…

"RRRROOOORRR!" Came a faint sound.

"What the hell?!" The bandit shouted as he turned around. Alex didn't know what the maker of that sound was, but he didn't plan to wind up as the hostage of this low-life bandit. Rushing forward, the young pilot tackled the man and managed to knock the gun out of his hand. They struggled for a while, and though Alex was an expert fighter, his injury was wearing him down; the bandit noticed this and began pounding on the injured shoulder.

"AAAUUGGHH!" Alex shouted in pain as his shoulder flared up. The man then knocked him down with a sweep kick, and immediately took his gun and aimed it at Alex who held his shoulder.

"Never mind the hostage idea! I'll kill you now!"

Mara… Brandon, Scott, Lance, I'm sorry…

Was all Alex could say as he thought of his wife and three sons, but the before the bandit could pull the trigger, a shadowy figure appeared.

"RRRROOOOAAAAR!" The shadow growled menacingly as the bandit turned… and found himself staring at a pair of glowing blue eyes.

"AAAAHHHH!" The man yelled as he turned and aimed his weapon at the figure, but suddenly found his weapon in the mouth of another shadowy figure, this time with glowing green eyes…. He screamed again as he released his weapon and watched the creature eat it, he then spotted the two figures joined by another shadowy form, and this one had deep violet glowing eyes. The man totally panicked and ran, and in his terror didn't look at the way he was going, so naturally…

WHACK!

The man fell to the floor, unconscious and totally spaced out. Alex stood up and gazed at the figures. The three unknown creatures, stood at the height of small horses, roughly reaching the upper area of Alex's chest, and seemed to be acting like animals.

"Who or what are you?" Alex asked, totally unafraid of the situation he found himself in as he gazed at his rescuers.

The three forms came right into the light… The three creatures resembled dinosaurs, metallic dinosaurs at that. The one with blue eyes was in a shade of deep green armor skin and seemed to have two horns curving backwards on the sides of it's head, it's arms were not that large or small, but was of the right size with claws. The other one with green eyes was in pale yellow armor skin and had horn like protrusions running down its back which were crystal like and glowed with a comforting green light. The last one with violet glowing eyes was in blue armor skin and had a pair of curving tusks on the sides of its mouth.

Alex gasped…

"Organoids!"

The three organic Zoids walked over to the astonished pilot and greeted him with low growls. Alex looked at the Organoids with a bit of surprise as they didn't attack him at all. One of the Organoids, the blue skinned one glowed with a light white haze and moved its claw on Alex's injured arm, and the pilot was totally shocked as the pain in his shoulder disappeared without any feeling of soreness. He tested his arm and found it to be totally healed and moving at the right condition.

"Uhh… Thanks a lot."

The Organoids moved out and disappeared into the darkness once more. Alex tried to follow them, but he stopped as a voice called in.

"Alex! You okay man?" It was Mick, along with several other pilots who were part of their unit.

"Yeah! I'm down here." Should I tell Mick and the others about the Organoids I saw down here? No I'd better not.

--

"I'm telling you there were monsters down there!! I saw them!!" The bandit screamed in hysteria as he and his lackeys were lead back into the prisoner transport that got dispatched from the nearby United Government base, which was Mesa Seven. The United Government composed of the Republic and Empire's main governing parties in the full restoration of peace on Zi.

"Yeah sure you did, and you can tell all the others back at the correction center." A guard near him said as he escorted the man.

The bandit was about to shout out even more, but was rushed into the transport and it sped out of sight. Mick and Alex rested near the ruins as they checked out the damage on Alex's Shield Liger that was lifted out by the Gojulas.

"Man Alex, you were sure lucky this time. The shell hit only a good distance away from you and your Liger. Any closer and the shrapnel would have passed through the shield and hit the cockpit!"

"No kidding…Owww." Alex said as he touched on large bruise near his hips.

"You okay? You took one nasty pummeling in your cockpit, and that nearly broke your ribs." Mick said as he and another fellow pilot who was also a medic checked their buddy's injuries.

"I'll be okay. I'm more worried about my Liger; I hope the mechanics can patch him up real soon."

"Don't worry about that little detail; the techs at Mesa Nine Depot will get him back in good shape." The medic said as he finished his checks. "Don't worry about your own injuries either; they'll heal in a week or so."

Alex nodded as he brushed his hand on the claws of his Zoid. "You'll be at the Depot for a while old buddy, don't worry about me, I'll be heading back home to Mara and the kids so you behave there okay?"

The Liger gave a low growl as it was towed to the Depot by a Gustav Zoid and escorted by several Command Wolves.

"You know something Alex, I sometimes wonder whether you got Zoidian blood in your veins, you talk to your Zoid and it responds back to you like a child."

Mick said with a smile as he got into his Guysack.

"Hey Alex, I'll give you a lift back to base, and you can take the jeep back home. I've got no doubts that Mara's already gotten wind of what happened here, so you'd better explain the details to her, or she'll grill the entire staff back at the base."

He said while laughing at the last part.

"Yeah, don't I know it?" Alex sighed. Mara always watched out for him, even though he was an excellent pilot, though he didn't get promoted into the elite division like she did. But he liked that about his wife, she cares for the family.

As he got into the Guysack's cockpit he looked and hoped that the Organoids he met would be okay on their own. Heh. What am I getting at, they're Organoids, they can take care of themselves, but I'm curious, why weren't there any capsules nearby that had any ancient Zoidians in them?

Little did he know…

The Organoids looked over the ridge of the mountains they were scaling as they looked over to the place where they had been residing for years. The three of them had been released before, at least several years, along with their Zoidian companions, but during that time, they were sealed deep in the ruins during the war. To preserve their powers, their Zoidian companions fused with the Organoids and transported their powers and their innate strengths to the Organoids.

The blue one turned to its companions .

(" Did you sense something about that pilot? ")

The pale gold one replied.

("I did, it seems that he has some bond with Zoids, it seems that he treats his Zoid with care. Not only that, he has a family to watch over, and he's quite courageous to battle that stranger with a dislocated shoulder. ")

The last one, the green skinned one gave a growl.

("I noticed something too; he seems ready to fight any enemy, remember, that he took on a Gun Sniper without any hesitation. He seems foolhardy, but he made the right decision to erect his barrier and move quickly to the sides. ")

("He has good potential, say why don't we follow him? We have no other place to go.")

The other Organoids nodded as they took off, activating their power thrusters as they flew outward following the Guysack.

--

"Thanks for the lift." Alex said to his companion Felix Marcius, who took him back home to his wife and kids.

"No problem Alex." Felix said as he drove off.

Alex walked down the path of his home. It wasn't much but he saved enough money to buy the house which was only a short distance from him base and from the city of Nelfa Gorge. Nelfa Gorge was a new city and was bustling with activity as any city would have. Mara didn't care all that much about the home but helped in furbishing the place… and sure enough.

"ALEX!"

"Hey Mara, I'm home… ooofff!"

Was all the pilot could say as he was tackled by his happy wife who wore her usual blue short sleeve tunic, with a pair of green cargo pants. He was lucky that he caught her before they fell down on the grass path.

Mara Reinhart was really a looker. She had light cream colored skin and had thick silky locks of chocolate brown hair that swayed in the sun and wind. Her body was like a perfect sculpture despite giving birth to three children, with the right measurements in all departments. Her eyes were a deep aquamarine and shined with happy tears to see her beloved husband back home. Her face was heart-shaped and totally flawless. She wasn't as tall as her husband at the height of 5'11 and was still young at the age 24. But despite her delicate looks, she was an effective and elite pilot when she came to the battlefield. Once she became Alex's wife, she joined the reservist unit.

"Mara, take it easy, I'm okay…" Alex said but didn't manage to hold a low groan as she hugged his ribs.

Mara moved away and gave him a deep glare. "Okay huh? Then why are you groaning a little?"

Alex sighed. "Okay, I got some bruised ribs all right. But I'm fine, really."

" Oh sure you were, that Cannon Tortoise nearly smashed through your Liger's shield, and you could have been cut up by shrapnel if the shards busted through the cockpit!"

"Where'd you hear of that?"

"I checked with the commander at your base, how else?"

"I see…" Alex smiled, looks like Mick was right about Mara again.

"Don't you smile at me like that Alex Reinhart! You could have been killed!"

"I know, but I don't care, as long as you and the kids are okay."

"Don't be sure about that, Brandon…" Mara was about to say more, but was silenced as her husband kissed her tenderly on the lips. Mara sighed as she placed her arms around her man's neck and drew him closer. She didn't have the heart to speak, until later… right now her hubby was kissing her.

After a minute or two of intense lip-lock the two separated. "Just because of that, don't expect me to totally forgive you for lying to me Alex."

"I don't expect you to honey, but I love it when you worry about me."

"Oooh! You're horrible sometimes! I wonder why you could be so relaxed after what happened." Mara said with a pout on her face.

"I know that, but I love you no matter what you say. You do know that?" Alex said with a tender smile.

"I do… I'm happy that you're home." Mara said with a simple smile as she and her husband walked back to their home.

"How are Brandon, Scott, and Lance?"

"They're okay, but you should know that Brandon had a feeling of you being in danger, and you know how accurate he is at that sometimes. That's how I knew something happened to you."

"Are his powers maturing that fast?"

"I guess so; but that power is the one he has so far, I'm not all that sure about Scott and Lance."

"I see, at any rate I'm happy to be with you and the kids again."

Alex and Mara entered the spacious and comfortable home. It had three floors and the bedrooms for their kids were at the second floor and theirs was only a foot away from their kids. The lower floor was where their living room, dining hall, and kitchen were. The second floor also had two bathrooms, one for the kids, and one more for him and his wife.

"DAD!" Brandon and his brothers shouted as they hugged their father.

Alex smiled as he looked at each of his kids.

Brandon was the oldest, at the age of 8 and had an intense looking pair of green eyes. His hair was like his mother's but was in a cropped short style, with a small yet long braid at the side of his head. He always acted as man of the house when he was left in charge of the household. He was tough and smart but loved his mom and brothers and his dad deeply. He also was taller than his brothers, but despite this he still had his youthful spirit.

Scott was the second oldest of Alex's kids at the age of 7. He had his mom's eyes, and had his dad's hair, which he wore in one long wave behind his head, but had the sides cropped short. He had the mind of his mom when it came to battle tactics, and always took that to account when he deals with some of the expenses of the house. He loved his family and did his best to work hard to help his brothers and parents.

Lance was the youngest of the three kids at his age of 6. If Brandon was the body, and Scott was the brains, then Lance was the heart. He always had both a cheerful and serious streak in him and it showed on both sides of his nature. He had his dad's hair that reached his shoulders and his eyes had both the shades of his mother and father, making his eyes blue-green. He gave happiness and enthusiasm when things were a bit hard; all in all he was loved dearly by his mom, dad, and brothers.

"Hi guys, did you all watch over mom while dad was away?"

"Yeah!"

"Good then! You all really did good tonight! Let's get some food." Alex said as he led his boys to the table.

Mara smiled as she watched her family move to the table. "Don't you all worry, dinner will be ready soon!"

--

Later…

"It's good to see you and the kids again." Alex sighed as he gazed out the window of his bedroom, his wife near him in her nightgown, while he was dressed only in boxers.

"Yes, you've been gone nearly a whole week, I'm happy the commander gave you the next week off. Though nearly getting killed to get that break wasn't what I had in mind." Mara said with a smile. But then she felt something, her husband wasn't telling her everything. "Alex, you're not telling me everything about what happened this morning."

Alex smiled a bit. "I know, but I didn't feel like telling the Commander and Mick about what happened back there at the ruins."

"What do you mean?"

Alex sighed and told her about what had happened when his Liger and the bandit's Gun Sniper fell into the ruins.

"You mean that you saw Organoids?" Mara asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, when I fell into the ruins, I didn't suffer just bruised ribs, but a dislocated shoulder, the Organoids scared that bandit witless that he smashed into the wall in a panic, then one of the Organoids just came to me and healed my arm completely. I didn't tell anyone, but I thought about telling you about this."

Mara thought about it. "Those Organoids must have been sealed in those ruins for some time, and when you came in they must have been able to find a way out. They thanked you by saving you and healing your arm. Though I've never heard of ruins holding three Organoids before. Did they do anything else?"

"No. They just ran off before I could follow them."

Alex sighed. "It doesn't matter now; all that matters to me is that I'm with you and the kids again."

"Yes, but I can't shake the feeling that we'll meet those Organoids again." Mara said as she and her husband kissed once more.

"Tomorrow or a year from now. It doesn't matter to me."

Mara smiled as they lay back on their bed, and when Alex turned off the light near them, bathing them in darkness.

--

Mara and Alex woke up the next day, and got ready to work today. Despite being in the reservist unit Mara kept herself occupied with not only her chores at the house but also in a nearby repair depot near the base where her husband worked. She was not only an elite Zoid pilot but was an expert mechanic as well, having learned the trade when her folks traveled to many places before settling in New Helic City.

"Mara, you and the kids have been doing things when I was away?" Alex said as he wore a blue shirt and black pants.

Mara put on her overalls and other clothes while they were changing in their room. "Yeah, Brandon and his siblings help out in maintaining Zoid parts, and they've been getting good at them."

"I see, they didn't suffer any accidents?"

"No, you know, for kids their age they sure know how to handle Zoid parts."

"Maybe they got it from you." Alex smiled.

"Oh sure they did." Mara retorted with her own grin. That was when they got a knock on the door.

"Mom! Dad! Come out!" It was Scott who called as he pounded on the door.

Mara opened the door and looked at her middle son. "Scott, what is it honey?"

The young lad began to point outside through a window. "You've got to see this!"

The couple looked at each other and wondered just what had excited their middle child. Making a quick change, Mara placed her pistol in her hidden holster, while Alex got his own pistol and knife ready. They then followed their son to the backyard. Once they got there, they spotted Brandon and Lance staring at something. Alex and Mara gasped at what they saw…

It was the Organoids that Alex had met yesterday at the ruins. All of the Organoids began to walk towards the surprised couple and their kids.

Alex stepped forward and looked at each of the living Zoids with an unflinching eye. "What are you three doing here?" Mara moved forward and looked at the Organoids with a curious eye as well.

"Wow! What are they?" Lance asked as he looked at the Organoids.

"They're called Organoids Bro." Brandon answered for his youngest sibling.

"Organoids?"

"That's right, they're like living Zoids that have a self supporting AI and can meld with Zoids to make them even stronger."

"Wow!"

The Organoids then spoke and to Alex's surprise he understood them. The green skinned one went first.

"Good to see you again. How's that shoulder of yours?"

"Uhh… It's all better now, thanks to you and your fellow Organoids."

"You seem to be healing quite nicely. By the way… are you related to a man by the name of Van Flyheight and his wife Fiona?"

"No, but my wife Mara is."

Mara stood and addressed the three Organoids. "Yes, I happen to be related to the Flyheight family, why are you asking?"

The Organoid then nodded to its fellow Zoids and the gold skinned one spoke.

"I see, so you have the blood of the Zoidians in you then. I haven't really introduced my fellow Organoids and myself."

The blue Organoid stepped forward. (" My name is Rikera.")

The gold one then stepped forward. (" My name is Zarreke")

The green skinned one stepped forward the last. ("My name Kail.")

Alex nodded as he introduced himself.

"My name's Alex Reinhart. This is my wife Mara Reinhart…"

He then called his sons forward.

"These are my sons, Brandon, Scott, and Lance."

The boys stepped forward and looked at the three Organoids with wide eyes. Brandon had heard stories about Organoids, but never expected to really meet one… let alone three! Scott looked in awe and with a bit of fear as he gazed at the one named Rikera. Lance smiled as he looked at Kail and with a whoop of joy he reached Kail and gave the green Organoid a starry look.

"Awesome! I'm looking at a real Organoid!"

Kail couldn't help but try to laugh but only came out with short growls. He then gave the boy a long look.

("You're quite the spunky one… Lance, right?")

"Yep, that's my name! Say… how come I can talk to you and I can understand you when you talk to me?"

The boy asked with a curious expression.

"That's because of your father's empathic bond with Zoids and my family heritage honey."

Mara answered with a grin.

"COOL! We can do that too mom?!" Brandon and Scott asked their mother.

"Yes you can. Go on boys."

The two other boys rushed to the Organoids and like the kids they were, they asked a myriad of questions to the Organoids, while their parents watched with simple expressions of their faces.

"I think our boys have made new friends." Alex said with a smile.

"I know, and I think that things will be okay." Mara said as she watched the boys have fun talking and playing with the three Organoids.

--

Years later…

"Man! I never thought we're among the first people on Zi to be able to travel in space!" Brandon said as he gazed out of a porthole onboard the Whale King Mark. 3.

"Yeah, you'd think that the brass back home was crazy to try and do this before too." Scott said as he gazed out through the same porthole.

"Yes, I've had this curiosity to see space myself. I've dreamed of this when I was still young like before. I've never imagined that this would happen now… I only wish that your… dad was…" Mara said as tears threatened to run down her face as she also gazed out to the stars tonight.

"It's going to be okay mom… we're here. And dad would always be here with us." Lance said as he hugged his mother tenderly, along with Brandon and Scott.

It had been seven years since Mara's husband Alex was critically injured when he and his unit were ambushed by a small terrorist faction and had been able to beat the rogues despite heavy casualties. Alex was unable to make it through the mess and had been nearly killed.

He had been taken to the ICU at the Mesa Seven Base along with his badly damaged Shield Liger. There he stayed for several days, but his injuries were critical and his life expectancy wasn't good.

Flashback…

"No…it can't be true!" Mara said with a totally devastated look.

"I'm very sorry Mara… but Alex's injuries are quite extensive. There's a slim but remote guarantee that he'll pull through." The doctor said sadly as he gazed back at Alex who was now asleep.

"But he'll be alive…"

"Yes, and he can come back home, but I'm sorry to say this also, but the injuries he sustained might make his chances of living short. He might have a few months at best."

A few days later…

Mara tearfully held her husband after he was released from the hospital a few days later as soon as he recovered from the brutal ambush. Alex however continued to smile, even after he was retired from the Army due to his condition. It was this desire to live life with a smile, determination, and with optimism that made the young woman fall in love with him…

Ever since then, the two of them dedicated their time to helping their boys and their old friends Kail, Zarreke, and Rikera become close. The Organoids did their own best to help Brandon and his brothers by teaching them on how to pilot Zoids and to tap into their own innate powers. Brandon mastered a high degree of martial arts and also became capable of channeling his own innate power to create energy, likewise with Scott and Lance. When all three boys were now older, with Brandon in the age of 15, Scott at the age of 14, and Lance at the age of 13 the three boys decided to enter the military.

They excelled greatly and became attuned to piloting Zoids, but their greatest specialties were piloting the limited in number Blade Ligers, the evolved form of the Shield Liger. They finished the course, which actually took years of training, but they had finished in merely months. Of course they never attempted to use their individual Organoids, but they used all the knowledge they had earned to excel even more. Their parents had also completed their training in other fields, such as Zoid repairs, cooking, music, fine arts, first aid, and other needed lectures before they would graduate.

When they graduated from the Academy, it was the happiest day of their parents, and the time the three made a long-time promise. Days after their graduation, Alex suffered a severe seizure. Before they could call the hospital…

"No… there's no need for that now…"

"But Dad!" Brandon shouted in denial.

"Brandon, leave me with your mother, you too Scott, Lance… please."

Brandon didn't want to argue with his father and so did his brothers, so they left the room to leave their mother and father alone.

Alex turned to his weeping wife and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Don't cry Mara… I knew that someday this would happen…"

"No… I can't stop crying no matter how much I want to." Mara said as she held her husband's hand.

"Stop crying Mara… Please, for me. I don't want to see you cry."

Mara smiled weakly as she managed. "There now, you happy Alex Reinhart?"

"Yes, Mara, promise me that you'll take good care of the boys."

"Of course I will you dope, they're my kids too!" Mara said with a half-insulted expression, which softened as she kissed Alex's cheek. "Don't worry… I will make them to be good and strong men… like their dad." She said as she sniffled a bit.

"Thanks. I will always love you Mara, it doesn't matter if I'm not alive now, just as long as you remember me."

"I'll never forget you, that I know you can be sure of." Mara said with resolution in her voice.

"Thanks, I need to talk to Brandon and the others, okay."

"Sure." Mara said as she left the chair and walked out to the door. A moment later, Brandon, Scott, and Lance came in.

"Dad…" Lance began to say.

"It's going to be okay Lance…"

"No it isn't… you should be in the hospital now." Scott said as he and his brothers came closer to their father.

"I know, but I really feel that I want to be with all of you before I die."

"Dad, please don't…" Brandon

"I want you three to promise something for me before I leave to the other side."

"What promise is that Dad?"

" I want you all to promise me that you'll watch over your mother when I leave…I know that she's strong and tough… but right now you three are all that she has… so promise me that you'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe and keep her happy. Do you promise me?"

"Yes!" Brandon, Scott, and Lance said with resolute tones.

"Thank you." Alex said as his sons left the room.

Alex got out of bed and looked out the window, and he spotted Kail, Rikera, and Zarreke. The Organoids immediately talked to him.

"GGGRRRRLLLL" (" What do you want from us old friend?")

"I want you all to make me this promise. No matter what, you take care of my family and help them no matter what."

"RRRRROOOOOWWWR! " ("Don't worry about that, we'll do our best! ")

"Thank you…" Alex said as he went back to bed and slept… never to wake up anymore…

End of Flashback…

Mara sighed sadly as she gazed out the window. After that they had buried Alex in a graveyard reserved for the military, attended by all of his friends and family, and her own. Over the next few months after the funeral, she dedicated her time to training her boys even more on how to pilot and maintain Zoids, namely their patented Blade Ligers. And the Organoids taught the boys on how to handle advanced battle skills and tactics when they fused with the Ligers.

It had been a month, when they heard of the plan to attempt space exploration, so they decided to come along. Bringing their Organoids had been a little difficult but manageable as they got them onboard along with their Blade Ligers.

"Thanks Lance." Mara said as she embraced her boys. She then took stock of the new Zoid that was now in space.

The Whale King Mark 3 was designed for space exploration and carried an immense amount of Zoids, including Saber Tigers, Command Wolves, Shield Ligers, Gun Snipers, Iron Kong Mark Threes, Dibisons, Raynos flyer types, Hellcats, Gojulas and a good number of Godos, A squadron of the Lighting Saix model Zoids and other special Zoids. The Godos were intended solely for construction work, while the rest of the Zoids were intended for expeditionary combat and defense. With effective upgrades, the Zoids were now designed for space work and warfare, landing on planets being given special heat reentry systems and armor, along with the ability to get back into space. The Whale King Mark 3 itself was a great achievement in Zoid research and development. It was at least the size of seven Whale Kings lined together from tail to head, and as wide as a small continent. It was armed with a variety of weapons and systems, some of which included internal repair bays and supply centers for all the Zoids housed in it. It was also capable of carrying other Whale Kings for any needed missions.

Lance smiled as their mother seemed to be happy once more. "You guys heard of this? There seems to be some newly manufactured parts for Zoids onboard."

"Really? What types are you talking about?" Brandon asked.

"Well… according to what I've heard there are one of each type. The first being a special Ion Booster System of armor, the second being totally useful for Close Range Battle and the last it designed for total Heavy Assault and Defense. It was to be mass-produced but the expenses went into developing the Whale King we're on now."

"I see…"

"I also heard that they even got the core for the Mark Three Whale King, by melding with the powers of Zoid Eve"

"Are you sure?" Brandon asked.

"Hey enough of that now. We'll need to rest." Scott said as he pointed to their quarters.

The others were about to nod, but a massive alarm sounded.

"ALERT! SPACE ANOMALY DETECTED AHEAD! ALL PERSONEL INTO THE SAFETY AREAS!"

Brandon, Scott and Lance moved quickly as they and their mother headed to the nearby safety center. Once they got in, they left their mother there as they reached their Organoids who were in their quarters.

"RIKERA!"

"ZARREKE!"

"KAIL!"

The Organoids roared and rushed out of the place and headed also for the shelters, which were designed to shield people from and cosmic rays, which were harmful to humans. Once they were all in, they waited and hoped along with the other people who got onboard the center.

The Whale King was sent through a powerful rip in the very fabric of space, which in reality was a tear in the dimensional fabric of time and space. It caused a massive chain reaction that seemed to suddenly send the mighty behemoth straight through a hole…leading to another dimension….

--

On another side of another universe was another massive tear that soon released a massive looking whale-like monster. It was the Whale King Mark three. The machine looked all right, but the changes from its trip through the dimensional tears had somehow… froze it in place.

Inside the Whale King, Brandon and his brothers along with their mother and their companion Organoids managed to escape… only to find nothing… it seemed that they were in some sort of freezing point in time… which didn't last long.

"ALL PERSONEL TO THE ESCAPE WHALE KINGS!"

Explosions occurred a moment later, until it became obvious that the behemoth had wandered into a massive meteor shower, without its shields online. Panic occurred as the people began to evacuate from the massive behemoth.

"MOM!" Brandon and his brothers shouted as they and their Organoids were separated from their mother by several lines of people and sealing doors.

"GO ON! I'LL BE FINE!" Mara shouted as she ran to another pathway, leading to another Whale King.

"Come on Brothers! We've got to move!" Brandon shouted as he led them to another Whale King. Once they got there, they moved in their Blade Ligers into the loading bay. Then…

"Hey! Take the C.A.S units with you!" A techie shouted as he directed the crane nearby to load nine large containers into the Whale King. Explosions rocked the mammoth Whale King as the system caved in. The techie also loaded in large stocks of Zoids, along with replacement parts, ammunition, and weapons. The three men rushed into the Command Center of their Whale King, they got into contact with the other Whale Kings.

"Is Mara Reinhart there?" They tried several times until they got to their mother. "Mom! Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine! You have to get out of here!"

"No! We can't leave you!"

"WARNING! INCOMING ASTEROID!"

"GO! I PROMISE I'LL FIND YOU!" Mara said as she launched her Whale King with shields at maximum.

"WE PROMISE WE'LL FIND YOU MOTHER NO MATTER WHAT!" Brandon shouted as they also activated their Whale King's own shield and left the dying behemoth.

The impact of the asteroid which was the size of a mountain crashed into the Whale King, causing a massive release of the Zoid's enhanced energy core's power waves, suddenly unleashing a shock-wave that spread all over the surrounding area. Unleashing its massive load of Zoid life cores that were standard packages for the unit. And somehow… slowed down the aging rates of the people affected onboard the escaping Whale Kings and froze them in time slowly.

The power wave suddenly engulfed the Whale King being piloted by Mara and the Whale King piloted by her sons, and seemed to change the machines inside the hanger bays of the Whale Kings, including the Organoids. The power waves then absorbed several other Whale Kings. In a moment all the Whale Kings in the area were tossed into the farthest reaches of the new universe. The Organoids then made their move to protect their masters to fulfil their promise as they unleashed their powers.

--

In the new dimension, there was another planet inhabited by humans… its name was Earth. It was now planning to explore its own reaches of the solar system and beyond. Once before the humans on Earth were embroiled in fierce conflicts, but now had placed aside their differences as their world was now overpopulated and low on supplies. In the years that followed, the humans uncovered a vast power source in what appeared in a strange container inside a meteor that housed massive cores. In this end a fleet of colony ships were created and one of them housed one of the prototypes of the reactors used to house the discovered power source which were fused together, they named the two reactors, Paeksis Phlagma and one of the reactors remained on Earth.

As the fleets passed through the void of space they were separated and each ship landed on various planets. Each ship filled with its colonists established various new civilizations, and hoped to continue the proud and strong human race. Just years after the arrival of the Whale King Mark Three.

However, the desire for warfare and self destruction manifested itself in the new void of space, which became manifested between the crew of one ship named the Ikazuchi; an argument broke out between the male and female crew-members, causing both factions to take two sections of the ship with them. The men landed on a sterile desert planet, while the women landed on a lush and abundant planet. Both factions were able to build a strong culture and both grew into different civilizations, the men of the First Generation named their world Tarak, while the women named their world Mejele. And for a hundred years these two cultures have been at war with one another…

This became the New World of three unknown strangers… each with great powers.

On a small planetoid…

Brandon checked their location on what was on the charts of the Whale King's computers, but to his frustration there were no records or star charts that could have been useful. When the Whale King Mark Three was born, the satellites that were deployed back home recorded every star in their sector of the universe, but now…

"Damn it! There's no way we even know where we are!" He shouted in frustration as he checked the charts once more. Zarreke growled a bit.

("There's no need to worry all that much you know.")

Brandon sighed a bit. "Sorry for my ranting, but I don't know what to do any more Zarreke. I don't have anything that can tell us where we all are now."

"That's true, but in any case we should be all happy we're alive." Scott called out as he got into contact with the Whale King's command bridge from his communicator as he worked in restoring the damaged Zoid transport from the inside.

"I know Bro… but we don't know if mom is…"

A silent moment passes, but then…

"Don't you say that Bro! Mom's still out there, we promised dad we'll be with her right to the end!" Lance said as he entered the bridge with Kail nearby.

"I know, sorry to say such things Bro."

Rikera growled a bit.

("Don't any of you worry about her, since she has Zoidian blood in her, me and the others can find her!")

The brothers looked in surprise. "You mean you guys can find her?!"

Zarreke and his fellow Organoids nodded as they spoke. "We can sense her presence easily, just as we can sense you three as well."

The brothers smiled. "Scott, just how much longer can you get the Whale King online?"

"In at least several days, thankfully the repairs aren't totally major and there's tons of spare parts onboard for the repairs. The power waves seemed to preserve the Whale King's main systems."

"Good, that should get us in good condition to find mother."

Kail growled a bit.

("We've decided to perform one more special task, why don't you go to the hangers when you have the time? ")

"We can do that now, let's go brothers." Brandon said as he left the Command Center, as his brothers followed their Organoids to the Hanger bay.

In the Hanger Bay…

Brandon, Scott and Lance came into the hanger and followed the three Organoids to their Blade Ligers, and near the Ligers were the containers for the CAS parts.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Brandon asked his Organoid Zarreke.

The Organoids turned and began to explain.

("When the explosion occurred those weeks ago, and we've unleashed our powers to shield you all, we discovered that we've strained our bodies to the limit. This means that we might die, however we discovered that your Blade Ligers have been given the power to evolve into higher types of Zoids, and in order to do that… we need to meld with the Ligers permanently.")

"WHAT?!"

(" Our bodies will totally merge with the Zoid core in each of your Ligers, once that happens we'll be totally part of the Ligers, we'll be able to memorize any battle tactics we encounter and then can 'learn' from battle. And most of all we can increase your fighting potential to higher levels… The energy waves from the explosion have also magnified your own powers to a high extent. Once we merge, then the Ligers will be totally different in power, performance, and appearance… and to add more power to the Ligers we'll fuse the C.A.S parts with the Ligers. This is our plan to continue to uphold our promise to your parents; we'll protect you no matter what. ")

"Thank you… we don't know what to say…" Scott began to say for his brothers, their Organoids were willing to do that for them.

"Don't worry about us; just concentrate on being able to reunite with your mother."

"We will…" Lance said with tears.

The Organoids turned and began to glow with power, turning into energy and fused into the Ligers, suddenly transforming them into a new and more powerful form. The brothers watched in awe as a sphere of light consumed their individual Ligers and the C.A.S parts. In what seemed to be at least an hour or two the boys looked on in awe. And soon the light faded to reveal their… Ligers…

The Ligers were now decked out in impressive white armor, the cockpit hatches were changed completely, with glowing eyes on each side and so were the other parts of the original Ligers. Brandon's Liger had blue eyes; Scott's Liger had green eyes, while Lance had violet eyes. The body frame was still the same, but the brothers could feel great power inside the cores of the Zoids. On the back of each Liger were special booster pods, and on the middle of the bodies were special stabilizer fins to give stability. Like all the other Zoids, the new Ligers were armed with gravity actuator units that allowed them to maneuver and run in space as if they were on land. Their normal blades were replaced by enhanced claws, which harnessed light particles and kinetic energy and feed the power into the claws. On Brandon's Liger were a set of mini gattling laser guns, Scott's Liger had two rapid fire laser cannons, and Lance's Liger had three automated rail guns. Their Organoids have just turned their Ligers into the rarest of their kind…

They were now… The Ultimate X Zoid types… the first of their kind on this side of the universe.

The Ligers then growled in unison. RRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAARRR! Saying one phrase.

("Transformation complete!")

The three brothers all said one word. "AWESOME!"

Days later…

The Whale King was now in excellent condition and ready to leave the planetoid. The brothers had spent the time practicing with their newly evolved Ligers and the newly added C.A.S armor systems. Each of them developed specialties with each set of armor and still had great skill in using the others. They also spent the time using their Godos to salvage the planetoid clean of precious resources and as soon at that was done they were ready to leave.

Once they were now in space the brothers looked into the void of space as each of them made their vow.

(Don't you worry mom, no matter how long it takes or how far away it is… we'll find you and we'll all be together once more.)

--

And the world they all left behind…

Zi continued to grow and prosper, but all the records of the people of Zi's first attempt to explore their universe were erased with the disaster of the Whale King Mark Three. However, the world of Zi changed over time.

It was after several centuries that a new form of Zoid combat was made. But unlike the wars to the past, a special ruling body known as the Zoid Battle Commission or ZBC was judging these battles. This organization held various battles between teams of pilots and their Zoids to gain rank and prize money for their winning the battle against their opponent team.

Rumors however persisted that buried deep in the world of Zi existed legendary Zoids which were also dubbed the Ultimate X Type, and one such Zoid landed in the hands of one team, this team known as the Blitz Team. This team however was totally unaware of the true power in the white armored and red eyed Liger. And it only needed the right pilot to unleash its power.

That pilot was a man named…………….. Bit Cloud.

--

Five years later…

Brandon nodded as he prepared his needed items as they prepared to leave their little home for some months. He and his brothers nodded at each other as they left for their next stop.

They had landed on the desert planet Tarak a month earlier to restock their supplies and weapons. They had also managed to sneak in their Whale King to the planet's hidden caves and had secretly transported their Ligers, which they still called by their Organoid names. Along with all the stocks of other Zoids, weapons, and parts as the Whale King was badly damaged after several battles with other races. They intended to construct a special barge to transport their materials as soon as they could.

The three brothers had matured a great deal since their journey to be reunited with their mother. Brandon was now at the height of 6'4 and was now in the age of twenty and his cropped hair had grown a bit longer, along with his braid, his body was well built and muscled. Scott was now wearing his hair in a ponytail and was also as well built as his two brothers and was now at the height of 6'2 and in the age of nineteen. And Lance had grown tall as well at the height of 6'0 and was now in the age of eighteen and now had his hair bordering his shoulder blades at the back.

They had been wandering the cosmos for five years now, searching for their mother or any trace of her. They had landed on different planets and fought in different battles with those who fought for a just reason, as their parents had always taught them that the only thing needed for evil to win was if good people did nothing. They had learned different fighting techniques over the years and mastered their own innate abilities with energy manipulation and usage. They never stopped in looking for their mother and even though it had been frustrating for them, they never gave up or surrendered the hope that they would meet her again.

When they landed on Tarak, they immediately pulled some strings, and secretly installed false data into the computer database of Tarak to register them as citizens of the third class. They had to admit that the men were excellent desert survival experts to have lived in the sterile world of Tarak. But the one thing they totally disapproved of was the way women were viewed on the male dominated world. Women were considered to be vicious inhuman beasts that enslaved men or killed them and ate their livers. This didn't suit well for the three Zoid pilots as they knew that their mother would have been totally disgusted with this world. The three of them knew that truth about women and knew about the 'facts of life' along with all the mechanics involved. But they kept that information to themselves as the men on Tarak would have considered them to be totally insane if they told them about it, including the way babies were really made between man and woman, if they told the men that, they would have suffered seizures. They also took the time to build a secret dwelling outside of the desert-city capital of the men, and therefore didn't listen to any of the propaganda films shown to the general populace. They had gathered whatever information they could about the war being waged between the men of Tarak against the so-called monsters of Mejele. One such development in this war was the creation of the Vanguards, these machines were humanoid in design and were capable of battling in different environments, including space and could be outfitted with various melee weapons and limited projectile weapons. But compared to their Ultimate X type Zoids and the Zoids they had with them, the Vanguards were totally outmatched by their own machines and by the women who had a higher technological edge over the men.

Another development was the revival of the Ikazuchi, the section of the colony ship that had brought the men to Tarak. Brandon and his siblings had managed to enter the section with little difficulty and gathered all the data aboard and found out about the argument between the men and women that lead to the founding of both cultures. They decided that since the Ikazuchi wasn't going to launch anytime soon that they should place their Zoids inside and store them there, along with the parts and munitions. They also intended to steal a section of the Ikazuchi and turn it into their newest transport, along with the parts salvaged from the Whale King.

When the time for the Ikazuchi came to be launched into space, they had an opportunity to leave Tarak. Brandon and his brothers got onboard the vessel without any difficulties and were now resting as the people on the outside prepared for the launching of the Ikazuchi to counter the increasing attacks of the Megele space pirates.

Out in space…

In a nearby asteroid field waited a Mejele cruiser, which was staffed by none other than the pirates who were now waiting anxiously for the catch of their careers. They were under the command of the founder of their group and their most capable second officer as the two watched in their own anticipation for the new Tarak fleet to be launched…

Little did they know that onboard their intended target were three powerful individuals and a hoard of powerful machines.

To be continued…

Author's notes:

The changes are remote from Vandread itself, but the changes will be well underway soon. The next chapter will be a whole new ball game. The Ligers I have made for this series are similar to Liger Zero of Zoids New Century, but they have different eye colors and are already armed with projectile weapons, apart form the standard 'Strike Laser Claws' so in effect this will be a real ball. Imagine what the women will say when the Ligers show up!

This is a pet project so I really appreciate reviews and comments, flames however will be ignored.

See you on the next chapters.


	2. Battle of the Sexes

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: Zoids and VanDread aren't mine, I'm just borrowing them.

( ): Thoughts

Chapter 1

Battle of the Sexes

On the distant male dominated planet of Tarak, the Prime Minister and chief commander of the Tarak Space Fleet was finishing his speech before the graduating batch of cadets, as the video of another Tarak propaganda film finished. Behind him loomed the former colony ship now battle cruiser and flagship, the Ikazuchi.

The crowds gave a roaring ovation to the speech of the Prime Minister as they cheered him on. In the crowds near the front was a duo of longhaired individuals with a calm and totally collective demeanor about them. Their faces betrayed no emotion as they and the rest of the cadets continued to listen to the Prime Minister as he toped off the speech.

"We shall now go forth and reclaim our true place in the universe at last, by first wiping out the scourge of pirates that have the gall to harass our transports! Why mist we wait for the appointed time? Let us go forth now!"

The crowds cheered and applauded once more.

--

The Engineering Bay of the Ikazuchi…

The engineering staff of the Ikazuchi scrambled like mad to ready the ship for its unexpected early deployment into space. The engine room buzzed with serious activity like a beehive as the men moved about to accomplish their specific duties. Huge turbines turned and whined as the massive ship began to power up. The barracks began to fill up as the cadets and their officers, including their commander and his staff entered the Ikazuchi. In less than fifteen minutes, the ship was now ready to leave the planet as the Prime Minister and his command staff came into the main bridge.

Then the massive engines roared to life as they unleashed a huge blast of light, lifting the ship off the ground as it slowly began to gain altitude.

On the ground, near the launch site, an old man wiped the sweat from his brow as he gazed at the rising ship from the fields he was working on. As he watched the massive craft rise towards the heavens, he began to show a smile on his face as he felt a certain feeling that the Ikazuchi was about to be placed on the stage where it would change the fate of his home-planet, and that of the women of Mejele, as a certain trio of men were now onboard, he had met them, and felt that they would help the whole universe to a greater future, and he hoped that they would find the one they sought. A moment later he went back to work on the dry and almost desolate soil of Tarak.

--

Deep in the bowels of the Ikazuchi…

The rumblings of the outside stirred three individuals from their study of a nearby Vanguard. The vibrations of the ship's launch had aroused them immediately as they quickly looked about the large room where they decided to take a nap. Only the indicator lights were on, though not providing enough illumination to brighten the room, there wasn't a single soul inside the room as Brandon and his brothers could see, they however weren't taking any chances, they got up and looked around.

"Got any idea what's going on?" Brandon asked.

Lance got up and headed for an observation porthole. He looked out and then looked back in surprise to his older siblings. "The ship's taking off."

Scott looked at his chronometer and looked a bit curious. "The ship's not supposed to take off another two hours."

"What made them launch early?" Lance asked a bit curiously.

"Something's not right." Brandon said as he looked about. It was then that the ship began to rock even harder, making the three men lose their balance. And they were shook about a bit as the ship continued it's climb. They hit their heads and were knocked unconscious.

--

Several hours later… over the orbit of Tarak…

The liftoff went on without any difficulties and the mighty battleship was now in synchronized orbit over the men's home-world, awaiting the arrival of its support fleet to join them in orbit. On board the craft's main meeting hall, the cadets of the Tarak Space Forces were enjoying themselves in the inauguration ceremonies as they all drank wine and conversed with one another.

"I can't wait to go into battle!"

"Neither can I! When do we see the Vanguards?"

"Those new Vanguard fighter will put those women in their places!"

"Say, after all this is over, do you want to make a kid?"

"A kid with you? That's not a bad idea."

As the conversations droned on, two young cadets by the names of Duero McFile and Dylan Krueger stood with two of their fellow cadets, drinking their own wine slowly to savor the taste. Drinks such as alcoholics were only given on special occasions and the longhaired men wanted to enjoy it.

"Hey Duero, Dylan. I hear that you two made it to the top of your class."

The longhaired men nodded as he simply took another sip of their wine.

"Yeah, you both done really well in the exams, you two would probably be assigned at headquarters." Another cadet commented to his fellow cadets.

"I hear that Duero left the position line of his submissions entry form totally blank and Dylan did the same, imagine that, top medics and officers leaving their entry positions blank." A third cadet said.

Just then another cadet carrying a box filled with food pellets in white and pink came walking up to them.

"Hey guys! Is everyone having a good time?"

The group turned and looked at the newcomer, who seemed totally out of place onboard a military ship; he didn't have the build of a cadet who endured the training of the military at all. He was a rather skinny individual with a shock of blond hair. His voice sounded whiney and seemed to be full of himself as he offered some of the men the nutrition pills he was carrying. He tried to sell the stuff to his fellow men, but they weren't going to bite

After he had gotten the cold shoulder from the men, the young man gave a look of defeat. He directed his attention to several other cadets and tried to sell the new pellets once more.

"Who was that guy?" One cadet asked.

"His father owns the Garsus Foods Cooperation. Let's put it this way. His family is in charge of keeping us fed, so let's leave it at that."

"Geez, I'm getting heartburn just by thinking about it." One cadet also said.

The other cadets laughed, except Duero and Dylan. Just then the lights went down as an announcer arrived and began addressing the assembled personnel of the Ikazuchi. The crowds directed their attention to a movie screen showing performance images of the Tarak military's latest tools in their war against the women, the Vanguard Fighter. The announcer then gave out a brief documentary on the newly created mecha.

"Stab! Pierce! And Slay! With these various tools and weapons, the Tsukumo VanType fighter is weapon unto itself! It is the frontline weapon of our military! Be it by sea, air, mountains, the plains, or in space! There is now terrain that our latest weapon can traverse! The new Vanguards are the new beacons of hope for out people! Let's all give a hand to our latest weapons!"

There was a standing ovation from the cadets as they all cheered for their latest tools of war against the women. Then the lights came back on and a section of the floor near the podium opened up. A large elevator platform rose up with more than two dozen completed Vanguards on It.

The applause and cheering stopped as the men saw… them.

--

Earlier…

Brandon and his brothers were immediately roused from their bout of being shaken about as the floor on the storage room began to move. They all looked up and blinked as the roof opened, letting in a flash flood of light. They then felt the entire floor rise as the got on their feet.

"What's happening here?" Scott asked as he got up from his position on the Vanguard leg and placed on his pack.

Lance looked around as he put on his own pack and groaned as he recalled the layout of the chamber he and his siblings were in. "Damn! This is where the new Vanguards will be displayed to the cadets."

"I should have known. Damn it! Well, we might as well get ready." Brandon said as he and his brothers placed on their travel packs.

Once the platform reached the top, they found themselves staring back at a rather large crowd of military cadets.

This wasn't going to be a good day.

--

"Who are those guys?"

"Look at them all! They're third class citizens."

"What are they doing onboard?"

"How the heck DID they get onboard?"

In the crowds closest to the platform, Duero and Dylan immediately assessed the three men. They both noted that the intruders were not like any third class citizen the two of them had ever seen before. They were all in excellent physical condition, with lean, but finely muscled forms. They're clothes were all well kept and clean, unlike the shabby garb that third class citizens usually wore. The first stranger wore what appeared to be a red short sleeved jacket with strange markings on the left side, a well kept body shirt in black color, black pants with woven shin guards, brown boots, and a pair of long hand gloves nearing his elbows. The second stranger wore a tunic of some rather smooth material in light red color, a sleeveless brown vest with the same odd markings and with clasps, red pants, black shoes, and also a pair of short gloves. The last stranger was wearing a deep blue body shirt, a sleeveless jacket with strange markings on the left side, gray pants, black boots, and finger-less gloves. The three men had intriguing eyes Duero and Dylan had ever seen before, the first had deep green eyes, the second had deep aquamarine blue eyes, and the last one had an impressive mixture of green and blue. The first stranger who was the tallest had his brown hair cropped sort but with a long braid on the left side of his face. The second stranger had his hair rather long and in a ponytail. The last man seemed to prefer his hair to be reaching the back of his shoulders. They each wore strange markings on their faces, making them look more rugged. Around their necks were ID tags that showed them to be third class citizens, but the young doctors had doubted them to really third class citizens. There was something about them…

Just then the security personnel began to approach the three strangers to arrest them. However, the three strangers didn't show any fear at the arrival of the armed guards, they showed instead that they had no intention of going away quietly as they dropped their backs and went totally defensive. The guards then attacked in one large group, hoping to overwhelm the men with sheer force of numbers. The cadets watched in the belief that these third class citizens would be easily subdued; Duero and Dylan had their doubts as the three prepared to fight.

Brandon and his siblings gave a growl as they faced the guards, normally they didn't plan on beating up people, but considering the fact that diplomacy was very much out of the question, it was going to mean that they had to escape.

All three men then took out what appeared to be cans which looked like those used in storing old sodas. They then pulled out pins that were near the cans. It was then that they tossed the cans towards the guards and hid next to the leg of one of the Vanguards. The cans turned out to be high powered explosives that blasted out massive sound, and a blast of magnesium white light, this blinded the guards and the cadets making the rest of them scream in pain. (+)

That was when the three men suddenly smashed their way past the guards, knocking the stunned guards aside.

As Duero and Dylan recovered from the effects of the explosive sound and light display, they realized that whoever those three men were. THEY were NOT from their military forces.

--

"Of all the dumb luck!" Lance said with a growl as he and his brothers ran away from the Tarak guards. After their little escape, the ship's security personnel were now ordered to capture them, and if needed, with deadly force…which would no doubt be what he and his elder siblings were going to be greeted with anyway.

"Hey, there's no time to worry about it! The one thing we've got to worry about is how to get the heck out of here!" Scott replied as he was in the middle as his siblings ran through the corridors.

"Let's get to the Ligers and take that section we were planning to steal. But we'll have to hide until we can get out of here." Brandon replied as he then guided his other siblings into the nearby storage room.

That was when they spotted an unexpected occupant.

The thing was a robot that appeared to locked into place by what appeared to be a form of gravity field generator, similar to what was in their Ligers and the other Zoids to allow movement in machines once used in ground warfare in the zero-gravity environment of space.

The egg-shaped machine was about the size of a small dog, and had a large projection screen of the top half with a small console underneath the lower rim and on the front. It was then that the thing woke up and faced the three siblings.

"Cell Unit 6 online…You are intruders. Activating defensive systems."

The robot activated what appeared to be a laser defensive wall in a cell, and then unlocked what appeared to be some sort of taser weapon. Naturally this meant that it intended to shock the three into entering the cell.

"Enter the Cell and you will not be harmed."

"Maybe we should…" The three brothers looked at each other questioningly…

The three of them then gave a simple answer to each other…

"Naahh…"

The three then began to dodge the incoming taser shots being fired at them by the small robot.

--

On the main command bridge…

The Prime Minister was in a foul mood, ordering the Fleet to go ahead with their operation. He had been looking forward to the exhibition match, but those three stowaways spoiled everything! They however were going to regret the whole thing, as they would be shot after this was all over, and he would shoot them himself!!

"Yes sir!" An aide replied as he saluted and went to fulfil the Commander's order. On the main view-screen, several other ships that formed the core of the Tarak Space Fleet's Response Forces were now moving into position to launch their first strike against the sworn enemies of their empire.

It was then that several lights decided to come streaking in…

--

WHABOOM!

"What the?!"

Brandon shouted as an explosion that slammed into the entire section of the ship rocked the storage area they were in. This caused the robot guard to lose its balance temporarily when it tried to stun Lance with a taser blast and smash into the power bars of the cell that it wanted to place the three brothers in, causing it to emit sounds of electronic pain as it short circuited and so did the grid. The laser bars weakened in intensity and became inactive.

"What the heck was that?" Scott said as he stood up along with his siblings.

"Take a look outside." Lance said as he glanced out of the porthole nearby. The others went there and they saw lances of lasers, cannon fire, and missile trails littered the void of space like a fireworks display gone totally off the bat.

"I should have known this would happen." Brandon said, as his brothers got the idea, though it wasn't what they had in mind, but a surprise attack by the women pirates was just the distraction they needed to get to their hidden transport.

"You think we should be in this?"

Lance asked.

"No way, you know better than to involve yourself for such a stupid and totally meaningless war."

Scott replied as they knew what was going on.

"Scot's got a point; this isn't our war in any way. Let's get ready to leave; our Ligers are itching to leave. Plus, we've got things to do."

Brandon spoke as he got away from the port-hole

The three Zoid pilots exited the room calmly and took their bags which they had dropped when they dealt with the robot, they then peeked outside to see if there were other guards. Just as soon as they were about to leave, they took a look at the downed robot.

"B-bleep…beep…bip…"

The pilots felt pity for the mecha as it had been doing nothing more than it's assigned duties, and decided to take it with them. Maybe they could get it running soon and with some needed reprogramming, and their Ligers needed some company soon anyway, plus the data in the little robot might help them in their own quest. Their skills at electronics had deeply improved since their five-year search for their mother.

--

On the main bridge…

The whole crew and staff of the Ikazuchi were in a total mess as they tried their best to identify their attackers.

It didn't take long for them to figure out that their greatest enemy had just arrived to give them a greeting card.

--

In the vacuum of deep space, the sleek Dread fighters of the female pirates were having a blast as they were now running rings around their technologically inferior enemies. The slow moving turrets of the Tarak warships were never intended to handle such fast and agile targets, as such they often winded up hitting their own comrades, as the nimble Dread Fighters dodged the barrage.

However, the majority of the damage was inflicted by the pirates' Dread Fighters and their pilots as they strafed the escort ships and made their way towards the main target of their little raid, which was none other than the Ikazuchi. One after another, the ships were either destroyed or disabled, leaving the Ikazuchi to defend itself.

Some distance away from the battle, the main pirate vessel stood by and observed the situation. Though everyone onboard was ready to intervene, it seemed that the need to do so wasn't going to be followed, as the Dreads were able to handle the battle easily and keep it in their favor. On the Command Bridge, an extremely old woman in robes smiled as she and her second in command witnessed the one-sided battle. It seemed that today was their lucky day.

--

The Tarak Command ship crew were in a major uproar as the Prime Minister gave the order to unleash the Vanguards. The second in command disagreed with the idea as many of the pilots were mere trainees and would stand no chance against their enemies. But his pleas were unheeded as the proud leader was in no mood to be humiliated further, for he would be humiliating his ancestor, Grandpa.

--

The scramble order sounded throughout the battle cruiser causing every available cadet to hurry to the launch areas of the Vanguards. Some of the cadets boarded the Vanguards, which were still in the main hall. A speaker came to life.

"Switching to sub-zero gravity to deploy all Vanguards!"

Within a nano-second of the announcement, all the tables, chairs, and other items, which weren't nailed on the floor began to float into the air. Under one such table a certain heir to the Garsus Foods began to float into the air as well in a panic.

--

"Sir! Some of the launching mechanisms are still not responding and are possibly offline!" another aide shouted.

"I don't care about that!" The Prime Minister roared. "Launch all the available Vanguards!"

--

Emerging from certain areas of the Ikazuchi, several units of the humanoid battle suits were now in deployment and managed to arrive into the battle in space. However, with just raw recruits with limited battle experience outside of the simulators for pilots, the vaunted Vanguards were nothing more than totally animated debris compared to the Dreads. Some managed to grab hold of the female interceptors as they passed by, but with their lack of experience, the male pilots could do little to halt the raiding forces.

--

"Eeek! What are these things?! They're getting in my way!" A Dread pilot screamed in surprise as two of the Vanguards pounded the top of her canopy.

The Dread team leader kept her focus and calm as she replied. "Don't worry about the Vanguards. Just remain concentrated on the enemy flagship."

"Roger!"

A trio of Dreads followed their commander as they made a strafing run at the Ikazuchi's undefended section. An area of the outer hull gave way to the attack and exploded, allowing the fighters to make their way into the stricken battleship.

--

"Hull breach in sector five! Repeat! Hull breach in sector five!" A petty officer said in the intercom as he took his assault rifle and watched as the emergency containment systems sealed in the breach to preserve the air and stop it from escaping into space.

The fighters that got through barreled in the corridors and landed in the main cargo bay area. The canopies opened and out came their pilots who moved to secure the area for their allies. They were decked in formless space suits with monstrous facemasks/helms, designed specifically to frighten their male enemies.

--

"All combat personnel, defend the Ikazuchi! All combat personnel, defend the Ikazuchi, remove the boarding party of the pirates!"

All combat personnel, including the ones who were chasing the Reinhart siblings rushed to defend their ship.

--

Bart tumbled out of his latest hiding place, which incidentally happened to be the hollow base of the statue of Grand Pa. He cried out in total fear as he got a full view of his race's most feared enemies.

"THOSE MONSTERS ARE WOMEN?!"

It was then that another ship came barreling into the corridor through the hull breach at break neck speed. However, it became obvious that this one wasn't expertly piloted like the rest.

"AAAAHHHHHHH! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Bart screamed as he scrambled back into his hiding place, the ship flashed by him and decapitated the head off the statue. The cowardly cadet immediately poked his head out the hole like a comic jack-in-the-box.

--

The Dread Fighter was careening out of control as it sped through the massive passageway…leading to the reactor room.

"AAAAAHHHHH! I CAN'T STOP!" The pilot cried in desperation as she found herself heading straight for a wall. With no other options, she fired her ship's cannon blasters.

--

In the reactor room…

"That thing sure looks like a Zoid power core. It's almost as big as the core of an Ultrasaurus Type Zoid."

Scott remarked as he spared another glance at the Paeksis. The three siblings had stowed their supplies in the far side of the ship, and near this area, meaning the a trip through the reactor room.

"I know it sure looks like that, but we don't happen to have the luxury of time to look at it." Brandon said as he moved forward.

Lance wanted to ask whether they would make it back with their Ligers in time… but then he saw…

"LOOK OUT!"

Lance shouted as he spotted the wall near the reactor bulge and become molten… something was coming straight at them.

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Brandon and his brothers found themselves thrown in different directions as an explosion tore through the wall. Brandon was sent flying in one area, Scott was thrown in one direction, while Lance lost his grip on his bag, and the robot, as something massive just plowed through the bulkhead.

--

At the Ikazuchi's main bridge…

"Minister! You mustn't do this!" The second in command pleaded as his commanding officer reached for a certain lever.

The commander of the now decimated Tarak Space Fleet shook his head as he grasped the lever. "We cannot run the risk of the pirates to take over the whole ship! I must at least save the new sections of the ship from their hands! Before we all lose everything, I will separate the old from the new!"

With that voice of conviction, the Prime Minister pushed the lever forward.

--

All throughout the sections of the Ikazuchi, specially placed explosives detonated, effectively severing the new sections of the Ikazuchi from the old section. In the command barracks of the older vessel, the cadets looked on in shock and horror as they watched their commanding officer abandon them to their 'dire' fates under the hands of the women. The cadets named Duero Mcfile and Dylan Krueger however didn't show any emotion or fear for that matter, he knew that for all their talk of courage and bravery, the top brass were nothing more than hypocrites and fools. Unknown to them however, a section of the Ikazuchi didn't break free and remained with the older colony ship.

--

Back at the Paeksis reactor chamber…

Lance groaned a bit as managed to regain his senses. He was lucky to have used his latent powers to direct himself to a safe area, and was able to avoid the full force of the blast. He hoped his brothers were all right. He opened his eyes to find himself being covered by something, he reached out with his hands, and suddenly found them brushing on something that was round, warm, and… rather supple.

"What the heck?!"

(My God! Did I just touch a woman's…breasts?!)

He immediately pushed whatever was on top of him and scrambled back, willing an amount of energy to transform into a type of sword. He however relaxed and let the weapon vanish as he realizes that the figure was indeed that of a human woman who was in a type of space suit.

"WAIT!"

He didn't budge as he waited for the figure to remove its apparent disguise, as the stranger removed her helmet.

Dita Liebely was more excited than she had ever been in her life as she removed her helm. She shook free her long silky mane of crimson hair as her deep blue eyes twinkled at what or rather who she was looking at. On her head was some sort of decorative piece that resembled a tiara.

"Wow! It's a real live alien!"

Lance looked a bit dumb-founded as he gazed at his unexpected visitor for a few seconds. The woman was about the age of 16, at least two years younger than he was. Her skin showed a light cream complexion and her face showed her youthfulness, her hair was very long and there were two tails of hair framing the sides of her face. On her neck appeared to be a rough diamond pendant which was rather attractive to the eye, along with her own looks.

(She's…beautiful.)

Lance thought as he felt a little embarrassed.

It was then that the words she spoke got to his attention.

(She thinks I'm a what?!)

"Hold it right there lady, I'm a human, not an alien! My name is Lance, Lance Reinhart!"

Dita paid no attention to Lance's words as she reached out with her hand and began to make some simple gestures with it. Lance wondered just what this girl was trying to do, so he decided to mimic her. The minute that was over the girl became even more excited.

"I did it! It worked! I made my first contact with a real alien!"

Lance shook his head. No doubt in his mind that this woman was a real ditz, but a real looker nevertheless. The youngest of the Reinhart brothers and an expert Zoid pilot quickly got up and began to look around.

(Where's that travel bag of mine? There!)

He spotted his travel bag stuck on the other side of a catwalk, several long meters from where he and the girl were. He focused his powers and pointed his hand at the item.

Dita looked on in surprise and gazed at what the alien was pointing at, she spotted what appeared to be a bag of some type… which floated up and immediately sped into the alien's hands from several long meters away. Her eyes widened in awe as she smiled and applauded.

"WOW! Alien power is so amazing! Please do that again!"

Lance didn't have the time for any trick shows, he needed to get to his brothers and get to the secret transport they had placed in the old section of the colony ship. Picking up the robot near him and placing traveling back on his shoulders, he turned and faced the redhead and said one phrase.

"Goodbye."

As he moved to the next catwalk…

"Wait!"

Dita cried out as she removed her spacesuit, revealing her to be wearing a long sleeved short jacket with pink lining at the sleeves, along with a tank top that hugged her chest and her bust, and displayed her well shaped figure. She also wore a short skirt reaching up to mid-thigh and lastly, cloth boots that reached the middle of her calves. She rummaged her spacesuit and took out her camera. "Wait up! I want to take a picture!"

--

It didn't take much time before the pirates took over the old section of the ship. In the barracks, the men were being herded by the pirates at gunpoint as their sentries watched them head for the escape pods. As Duero and Max walked along, they began to listen in on the women's conversations as they all disrobed their heavy suits.

"I know that it's a disinfectant, but I don't think that I'll ever get used to the smell at all."

Commented a tall blonde woman, her name was Jura Basil Elden or just plain Jura to her comrades and she was about twenty years old. She had a voluptuous figure that would have caught the attention of men back on the world of Zi making them drool. Her long, lush blonde hair reached all the way to her buttocks and thighs. She wore a dress, which showed every curve and swell of her body, and had a plunging neckline and had slits on the sides of the long skirt that revealed her marvelous legs from the side. She had deep green eyes, and her face was completely flawless. She however wasn't all just looks, as she had a fencing sword and in truth was second in command of the Dreads.

"Has anyone seen Dita?"

Asked another woman by the name of Meia Gisborn, or just Meia. She was a tall girl though not as tall as her blonde comrade, and was at the age of nineteen. Her hair was light blue and cropped in a short boyish style. On the left side of her face was a strange metal circlet. She was also dressed in a form-fitting body suit with gray, white and black shades, which gave emphasis to her athletic figure and curves, which would make any man turn a full 180 degrees and gain creeks in their necks. However like Jura, she wasn't just a woman, as she in truth was the leader of the whole Dread teams.

"The last I saw of her, she went barreling through the bulkhead in that direction… ow!"

Barnette shouted in pain as she glared at her comrade Paiway. Barnette Orangello was Jura's long time friend and wing-mate, like the blonde woman, she too had a lush figure and wore an outfit that had an open front, revealing the top areas of her bust's cleavage. She had her hair cropped short like her leader Meia, and her hair had a dark greenish color. Right now, she was being treated for a wound she had received during the infiltration.

"Watch it Paiway! My skin's very delicate you know!"

She fumed as she gazed at the wound she had received from the men's rifles when one of the rounds cut through her spacesuit, it stung with pain and she knew that there will be a scar afterwards when the wound completely healed. She became a bit distraught as her perfect skin was now permanently blemished.

"Just try to endure the pain."

The young apprentice nurse replied in answer as she continued to add disinfectant to the wound. Nearby were other pirates who needed to be treated.

"Nurses are supposed to be a lot more sensitive to their patients you know."

Barnette complained to Paiway as she winced again in pain.

"I am!"

Paiway assured. She was only eleven years old with long, dark purple hair that was tied in two odongos. She was the pirate's chief medical officer, though Duero and Dylan could easily tell that she wasn't that totally skilled with it. She had the promise, skill and talent, they could see that, but lacked the proper training and knowledge to better treat her patients effectively.

As the men were being herded into the escape pods, Meia went towards one of the holes in the walls. She then called out to Jura, who gave a sigh as she knew what this meant, they were going to have to look for Dita again, despite her skill and promise, the redhead was always going places she wasn't supposed to go.

--

Meanwhile, on another part of the massive vessel, three more pirates arrived in the apparent sub-bridge of the Ikazuchi. After taking of their suits and helms, they explored the consoles.

"Oh my! I can't read a single word of this!"

Ezra remarked as the screens only showed the language of the men of Tarak. She was a quiet and kind-hearted girl with brown hair and had a gentle demeanor. She's the perfect example of a housewife, which was also shown due to her manner of dress. She usually was part of the communications team on the bridge of their ship, but the first officer insisted that she accompany her and the chief engineer. Ezra had the look of a housewife, and her clothes reflected that.

"No problem!" Parfet said as she brought out a certain device. Parfet was the chief engineer of the pirates and was the leader of the engineering teams. She had large glasses that covered the shade of her eyes and had her dark brown hair tied up in two large braids. "I knew something like this might happen, so that's why I made this Inter- Pricko! This helps us translate all the languages we have into basic human dialects! I'll make one for you too commander…?" Parfet asked as she handed the device to Ezra.

However, Buzam A. Calessa or Buzam or just BC wasn't even interested as she casually began to download the data to their command ship. She was a tall and well formed woman with silver-blonde hair and was decked out in something that resembled high-tech version of a harem outfit. As she finished the downloading, she spoke into a communicator.

"Have all the men been immobilized? Good, then dump them."

"Huh? You already know how to read the language of the men?!" Parfet gasped.

"That's the elite for you." Ezra shrugged as she also went to work.

"Darn! And I worked so hard in making this thing too!" Parfet sighed.

(Don't worry she'll have some certain creatures to research on soon enough.)

--

One of the guards immediately directed her attention to two certain males. "Hey! What are you two doing?"

Duero and Dylan Krueger totally ignored the pirate as they directed their attention to reaching into a locker and removing the medical trench coat given to them, as to all medical officers of the Tarak military.

"Get into the capsule now!" The pirate demanded as she got closer to the young doctors.

"There's plenty of time for that later." Duero replied as they turned to face the guard.

"Do as you're told or I'll shoot the both of you!" The pirate emphasized her point as she leveled her blaster rifle at him.

"My friend and I are no threat either to you or your friends."

Dylan said simply as they gazed at Paiway and the rest of the girls injured. "We happen to be doctors. And you look like you're comrades need medical treatment."

This little announcement got the attention of the pirates. An expert physician was the one thing the female corsairs lacked and sorely needed, since Paiway was still an apprentice and new to the art of medicine. And to actually have two nearby was very fortunate. However, that fact didn't ease their apprehension to the prospect of a man touching them… let alone two men

--

Back at the reactor room… a good distance away…

Brandon shook his head as he walked around, he had already recovered consciousness and went in search of his two younger brothers.

"Scott! Lance! Where are you?"

"Over here!"

Brandon immediately recognized his brother Scott's voice; he ran and found his brother walking out of a rather messy mixture of fallen poles and wires. Scott lifted the pipes without any difficulty as he met up with his oldest brother.

"Scot! You okay Bro?"

"Yeah, a little bit banged up, but no worse for wear."

"Thank goodness. We've got to look for Lance."

"No problems there Bro. Let's go." The two then went in search for their younger sibling.

--

Elsewhere…

"Go away." Lance said simply as he went in search for his brothers while avoiding the over-excitable redhead who followed him.

"Wait! Let's just sit down and have a little chat!" Dita called out as she took some more pictures of Lance.

The young Zi pilot groaned. Any other time he wouldn't mind chatting with the buxom redhead, but right now wasn't the time. He and his brothers had a mission to accomplish and he needed to get out of the reactor room, and locate his siblings. He thought about using his energy to blast his way through, but with the reactor nearby that would have been hazardous. He decided to find an exit and meet up with his siblings and get to their transport. But it hadn't been easy since this woman was following him. He decided to keep moving and hope that the girl would take the hint and leave him be… though he admitted she was hot in that sexy garb.

"We're all really a peaceful race!"

(Oh sure you are. Brandon, Scott, where the heck are you all?!)

--

Some distance away from the Ikazuchi, the new segments was now in orbit over Tarak. On the bridge, the Prime Minister's pride had taken a very strong beating at the moment. This was supposed to be his greatest moment, but the bloody female pirates had made a mockery of his Space Fleet. They were even letting their male prisoners escape in the pods. But the man wasn't fooled by their so-called act of mercy. However, he knew that he had a way to pay them back for this insult.

"Prepare to fire the space torpedo Murimasa!"

That command had a certain effect on the crew. "Minister, are you actually going to destroy the old section of the ship?" The first officer asked in shock and dismay.

The Prime Minister didn't reply to the inquiry as he thought angrily while glaring at the image of the old section of the ship.

(I'd rather destroy it with my own hands than let it fall into the hands of those women!)

On the underbelly of the new section, a certain cylindrical object was lowered into place following the commander's order.

--

Back at the old section…

Ezra gasped in horror as she detected the danger via the console's data readouts.

"There's a missile being locked in on our position!"

BC immediately relayed the message to her Captain. The aged woman replied.

"I see it. Losing such a ship would be a real shame, but let's get out of here!"

The order to evacuate the ship sounded throughout the hallways of the Ikazuchi, as the pirate ship made it's way to collect their crew, providing covering fire while moving to begin the evacuation.

Meanwhile, Duero had finished treating the last patient and so did Dylan, who's last patient happened to be Barnette.

"There, that should take good care of that." He secured the bandage on Barnette's arm and nodded with satisfaction. With extra medication, there wouldn't even be a single trace of a scar.

The young doctor then took the time he had earned to study Barnette with natural curiosity. Like most men of his home-planet, Dylan and his best buddy had never seen a woman in person before, and she looked quite different from what the propaganda films he had seen before.

However, Barnette had taken notice of him studying her and became extremely agitated by his look. "What? Do you find something interesting about me?"

"In all honesty… I do."

"Don't expect me to thank you!"

"I don't expect you to do so. Well, I guess it's time for me to leave now." Dylan said as he stood up and checked on his buddy who also got the same response from his last patient.

Behind them, Paiway was busy writing down all that she saw in her trusty notepad. Apparently she was recording who the girls were that Duero and Dylan were treating, btu the question was…why?

--

The pirate ship arrived directly under the belly of the Ikazuchi and connected a boarding tube to it. The crew extraction commenced, but they didn't have the luxury of time on their side.

--

"Isn't the missile ready yet?" The Prime Minister growled in obvious impatience.

"Sir, the missile is still in the process of fueling!"

"It has more than enough fuel! FIRE!"

At that command, the Murimasa was launched, followed by a secondary torpedo.

--

"What's the status of the extraction, BC?" The pirate captain demanded from her second in command.

"Crew extraction is almost complete Captain." Buzam replied. "I'm the only one left of my team. Three under Meia's command haven't returned and reported in however."

"We'll let them return to their Dreads. Get back here on the double!"

"Roger!"

--

Back at the reactor room…

"Where is she?!" Meia said in exasperation as she and Jura checked out the area of the reactor wall, where they found Dita's Dread.

"Well, at least we know she's here, at least her Dread is." Jura said as she checked the cockpit once more.

"But she's not in the cockpit. Where is she? She knows better than to wander on her own!"

"Maybe she's doing something's she's not suppose to also."

On the other side…

"Where the heck is he?" Brandon asked as they moved around looking for their young sibling.

"At least we can be sure he isn't injured and he's here." Scott said as he opened his eyes after trying to track down his youngest brother via psychic link.

"The question is… where in this morass is he?"

The two parties immediately got their answers…

"WHAT PART OF GO AWAY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

The minute they heard that, Brandon and Scott rushed down and headed to the sound, as they knew that to be Lance, though they were curious as to who he was shouting to.

Meia looked down the rails and spotted a strange man walking away from someone, that someone being a certain redhead…

"DITA!"

Jura looked down and gave an amused look to her commander. "See what I mean? She's chasing a man."

The women rushed down to catch up with their comrade.

Lance was reaching the limits of his patience with the buxom redhead. He tolerated her questions and prodding for too long, and he was ready to fire a chi bolt at the walls in his frustration. He then ran faster as he recognized the auras of his siblings.

Dita was a bit winded and groaned as she saw Lance run faster. "Wait up!"

Lance gave a sigh of relief as he met up with his siblings.

"Where the heck have you guys been?"

"Where have we been? We've been looking for you, that where we've been!"

Brandon said as he glared at his younger sibling.

Scott immediately caught his young brother in a headlock and began to rub his head. "What the heck were you doing?"

Lance broke from the grip and replied.

"I've been looking for you two and avoiding someone."

"Really… like who?"

Dita turned around the corner and smiled as she got sight of Brandon and Scott.

''WOW! MORE MR. ALIENS!"

Both Brandon and Scott looked at Dita… just as she clicked her camera.

FLASH!

"Ouch!"

"Turn off that light!"

When the older Reinharts got to look closely at Dita they immediately gave their youngest brother wolfish looks.

"My… you were being chased by that babe, eh?"

"All this time I thought that you were in trouble, now we find you being chased by such a hot looking woman. I wonder what dad and mom would…"

"HEY! It's not what you think!" Lance said as he tried not to blush and failed miserably.

Dita wondered why Mr. Alien was blushing so bad, and why the other Mr. Aliens were smiling. But she thought that her Mr. Alien looked rather…cute when he blushed.

"Dita!"

The redhead turned and there was Meia and Jura. The Dread leader immediately reached her subordinate and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Dita, what are you doing?! You know better than to wander all by yourself!"

"I'm sorry Meia." Dita said in apology as she took a last look of her first aliens.

Brandon looked at the other females and gave a curious expression at the other two, noticing the one with aqua blue hair. He began to admire the well formed features of the short-haired woman, and her appearance. He, however knew that now wasn't the time to be admiring the opposite sex, he turned and talked to his brothers.

"We don't have the time for this little meeting; we've got to move now."

"Roger."

Scott said as he looked at the women one more time, and noted the drop dead sexy blonde, and looked at her a bit more with admiration, before following his oldest brother. But he wasn't aware that the blonde was giving him a once over.

Lance nodded, more than eager to move, but he gave one more look at Dita before leaving.

Meia looked at the men, and looked in particular at the tallest who appeared to be the oldest of the three, and shook her head clear as small and strange feelings made themselves know to her, as she gestured for her team to leave.

Jura thought at the look of Scott.

( Hmmm… not too bad for a man. He's got wide and strong looking shoulders. Not to mention…)

She then shook her head. Where did that train of thought come from? She was from Megele and all men were the enemy!

(Why am I thinking these things?! I don't like men!)

--

"All three accounted for. We're leaving the ship now on our Dreads!" Meia said on the communicator as she and her subordinates ran for their ships. However just as Meia and Jura's ships were lifting off. Dita found herself in a bit of a problem…

"OH NO! MY DREAD IS STUCK AND I CAN'T GET OUT!"

--

It was right on the spot. When her Dread had blasted it's way to the reactor, the torn sections of the metal had grabbed hold on the front ends of the Dread, and with the front tightly wedged in the walls, the fighter was trapped. On the other side, the three Reinharts spotted the problem. They had to make a choice, either head for their transport and let the girl die, or…

They wiped that idea out of their mind, no matter how much time they would lose, they would never abandon the innocent and helpless, and this redhead hit the qualifications dead center. They powered up their energies and immediately unleashed tightly focused bolts of bio energy at the torn areas that held the Dread by it's twin booms and effectively freed the fighter.

In her cockpit, Dita gasped and smiled at the act of kindness the three aliens did and the display of their amazing powers.

"Wow! You're all really COOL aliens! Thank You!"

She said as she blew a flying kiss to Lance.

Lance simply shrugged, along with his siblings as they moved out of the area.

--

Meia and Jura breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Dita's Dread move back from its place in the hole. Since they were at the other side, they had not witnessed how the ship got loose. Not that they had the time to think about it. They had just started their escape when they realized that they were out of time.

--

The pirate ship…

"We can't avoid a direct hit!" One of the bridge crew said as she checked the variables on her console

"Hit or miss, it's our destiny." The old captain said as she braced for the worse.

--

On an 'abandoned' section near the reactor housing certain mechanized beasts…

Brandon smiled as they arrived at the hidden transport in the Ikazuchi, he and his brothers were about to board their Ligers, when they were about to release the locks to their hidden transport… the missiles hit the ship, causing a massive explosion that engulfed both ships.

--

On the new section of the Ikazuchi…

"Minister! We're losing mass at a rapid rate!"

The commander nodded with satisfaction as he witnessed both ships engulfed into a type of vacuum and vanished from sight...

"I hope you all enjoy the taste of your defeat."

--

Brandon, Scott, and Lance found themselves falling into a massive sea of green-blue light. Their bodies felt as if the energies were seeping into their skin, somehow… boosting their own powers. The sensations were unlike anything they ever experienced, but were comforting and relaxing, instead of pain inducing and agonizing.

As they fell, they became aware that they weren't alone. Three others were falling with them, who they recognized as the women in the reactor room, as darkness was about to claim their vision once more, they each saw an image of the future they would embrace forever. The images were their Ligers, with their specialist armor and secondary armor, but the specialist armor looked different and more powerful than before. Then the last image they saw was a certain girl call out to Lance…

"MR. ALIEN!"

To be continued…

Hi, Scott here. Looks like my brothers and me have really gotten ourselves in one heck of a mess this time. We've just been swallowed by this blue-green stuff and we're looking at really odd images. Not to mention we're not alone in this little side trip.

No kidding… Lance here, It doesn't seem to be over yet though, We've just been sent to one new side of the universe and we're about to meet the so-called ' enemy of all men' namely the pirate leader… and to top things off we're being greeted by incoming unknown hostile forces!

So it seems that we'll have to put our search for our mom on hold… again.

Do we have to brother? (Lance and Scott asking Brandon.)

Yes we have to. Next up on ZoidDread

Chapter 2: Beasts of War. See you on the battlefield!

--

Author's Notes:

To signify the separation of ZoidDread from Vandread is the introduction of Dylan Krueger, who happens to be Duero's best friend in the Academy. Dylan isn't the same as Duero as his hair doesn't cover part of his face like Duero does. But the new man has his own past… I'm not saying what it is yet, but you'll all know soon enough. (Dylan looks like a mature far taller version of Dou Maxwell from Gundam Wing and Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz minus the long ponytail.)

(+) Flash bang grenade.


	3. Beasts of War

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: Zoids and VanDread belong to other people, not me. So bother them instead if you guys have questions. Clear?

( ): Thoughts

(" "): Mental communication

Chapter 2

Beasts of War

Brandon, Scott, and Lance found themselves dreaming, or at least they thought they were dreaming. That was what they were feeling as countless images flew in front of them. The images included the countless places and beings they had been to and met during their long journeys to find their mother in this new universe. The other images were on their lives back home on Zi. Their births, the day they met their companion Organoids, their years growing up, training with their father and mother on piloting and maintaining Zoids, their long years in the Academy, the death of their father and their vow to guard their mother, their long weeks of taking good care of their only parent, down to the incident that sent them into this universe. And lastly, their five-year search for their mother. The visions disappeared as the darkness embraced them once more.

--

Many light years from Megele and Tarak…

The pirate cruiser and the old section of the colony ship violently reappeared in normal space. Both vessels were severely damaged, but were still in functional order, but then the older vessel unleashed tendrils of light from the depths of it's Paeksis reactor core. On the bridge of the pirate vessel, the crew began to rouse themselves.

"Uuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh… this doesn't feel like the afterlife. Where the heck are we?"

Magno Vivian, age one hundred and eight years old, founder and captain of the pirates looked about. Her bridge crew were now regaining consciousness and didn't seem none too worse for wear. It was then that the whole ship shuddered as something took hold of it.

Magno looked up at the main view screen and gasped as she saw that the old section was moving around as it took a life of it's own. It continued to unleash massive crystal tendrils that resembled arms that began to collect all the debris around it's vicinity and incorporating itself, including the pirate cruiser!

"What's that thing trying to do? Is it going to swallow the entire ship?!"

--

The two vessels became one whole unit as they were linked together by a massive crystal, with the Ikazuchi's belly on top of the pirate vessel. Inside the female vessel, the sections began to undergo a massive metamorphosis as the Paeksis began infusing it's energy into all the cables, mechanisms, and circuits. The women worked desperately to stop it, but their efforts weren't getting any success as the entire craft was completely engulfed.

--

A few minutes later…

Inside the reactor room of the Ikazuchi, the three Dread pilots who had been dead center in the explosion came to their senses, and were quite surprised to find themselves lying on the floor.

"Is… everyone all right?" Meia asked as soon as she regained consciousness.

"I'm…okay, though I feel different a bit." Jura answered as she sat up from her lying position.

"Where's… Dita?"

"Hi!"

Both girls turned and sighed in relief as they saw the apprentice pilot lying flat on her stomach and waving to them from a distance.

The overly excitable redhead began mumbling. "Something… went beep… then… VROOM! Alien powers are SO amazing!"

Lying nearby, and still asleep were Brandon, Scott, and Lance.

--

The captain of the pirates, her first officer, and the chief engineer stepped into the reactor room, with a small escort team. They had been informed by their chief supply officer Gascogne, or Gasco, which she totally dislikes though the crew didn't seem to mind calling her anyway, that the two ships would not separate from the outside, so they made the decision to check the problem at it's source.

Meia and her two subordinates were there waiting for them, and the aqua-haired apologized to the ancient woman. "I'm very sorry that you had to come all the way here, Captain."

Magno waved her off. "There's no need to apologize Meia. I just had to see all this for myself." She began walking around the room and looking at the Paeksis's handiwork. The entire chamber was flooded with crystals. "Amazing." Her gaze caught some movement, and then drifted to a trio of men who were each about regain consciousness.

"The one with the shoulder length hair was the one Dita was chasing, when me and Jura got to her, these other men were there as well." Meia explained.

"So these are the ones, eh?" Magno said, then remarked. " It's been a long time since I've seen a man, not to mention three, are their faces always this stupid looking?"

Brandon, Scott, and Lance were opening their eyes when they all heard the stinging barb. As soon as they got to their feet, they immediately took stock on just who insulted them. Lance snorted as he gazed at the aged woman.

"Look who's talking, I don't know what chip you got on your shoulder about men, old lady. But don't let the fact that you're old give you the excuse to insult someone you just met."

Brandon and Scott sighed as they prepared for what reaction the old captain would give.

--

Later…

Brandon and his siblings were now locked in another cell with energy bars, this time in the women's ship as they regained consciousness.

"Okay… that wasn't an entirely good idea." Lance said as he fingered the floor.

"True, but you had a point." Brandon said as he looked around the new cell. Scott nodded silently as he gazed, then noted that they weren't alone, as he spotted two certain individuals were nearby who didn't make it into the escape pods.

"Hello Third-class citizens." Duero and Dylan greeted.

Brandon smirked a bit. "You can drop the act on calling us Third-class citizens now, so what are your names?"

"My name's Duero, Duero McFile."

"My name's Dylan, Dylan Krueger. And you three are?"

"My name's Brandon, Brandon Reinhart. These are my younger brothers…"

"Scott Reinhart." Scott gave a slight smile as he nodded to the young Tarak native.

"Lance Reinhart." Lance said in confirmation as he extended his hand in a gesture of a handshake. Duero accepted the handshake from Lance, and then from Scott and from Brandon. The tree brothers then shook Max's hand.

"Reinhart… I've never heard of that name before. But you seem to be different somehow; I knew that as I studied you during the inauguration ceremony of the Vanguards." Dylan said as he gazed at the three men like his friend.

Duero thought deeply then resumed speaking.

"You three aren't like any third-class citizens we've ever seen before… that is if you really are citizens of our home-planet."

The young doctor remarked.

"You all were able to evade the guards and beat them aside as if they weren't even there. I was under the impression that only the elite were ever trained on how to fight with such deadly hand-to-hand combat skills, evasion tactics, and weapons mastery."

Scott smirked.

"We've been training since we were still kids, and we've had some real good teachers."

"I see, and exactly how did the three of you manage to sneak onboard the ship past all the security?"

Dylan asked with a curious eye.

"We did a lot of checking on the security systems on the ship, and it wasn't hard to find loop-holes in certain areas of the ship's onboard systems. We've actually been…"

Brandon broke in before his younger sibling could finish.

"I think that should give you your answers. We've been well trained on how to sneak into well-guarded places so much it became second nature."

"I see… though we think that you're still hiding something from us, what you've said should help us picture how you all sneaked in here. Your movements at the ceremony were well coordinated and you all showed extensive physical training. When the women brought you all here, you were all still unconscious, so we decided to examine you three. Don't get alarmed, all we did was check your basic vital signs, you all have good heart rate, and breathing, and you all are in excellent physical condition, just totally opposite from what's expected from third-class citizens. If it weren't for your ID tags, we would have pegged the three of you being from the elite top one percent elite combat divisions."

Duero said with Dylan showing his agreement with his best friend.

"Man, you're sharp… doctors." Lance said with a smile as he recognized the medical symbol on the young men's trenchcoats.

"So, care to tell me on how you all learned those skills?" Duero asked.

"Sorry doc, but that's data we don't planning on sharing."

(At least not yet.)

The brothers thought together.

It was then that their gazes turned to the robot Lance had with him, it was lying nearby and showed static on its monitor. Then it began to quiver and shake, and then sprouted metal arms and legs. Its screen came online and displayed a pair of large eyes. The thing stood up and looked around for a while, and scratched it's head in puzzlement and confusion.

"Where am I? Who am I?"

"You seem to have changed quite a bit." Brandon commented.

The machine looked at them in puzzlement.

The three brothers sighed as they decided to check on something important. They sat in cross-legged positions and began to concentrate.

--

As the two ships continued to reformat themselves, the pirate crew did their best to halt the changes, but with little or no success. Before long, every circuit board, cable relay and mechanism of the pirate vessel and the Ikazuchi were totally flooded with crystals. In effect, the engines were totally offline and so were most of the major systems.

In the engineering section, Parfet and her crew did their best to determine the extent of the damages; unfortunately they had no starting point to begin their search. As Parfait ordered her teams to begin inserting Linestar Particles into the main relays to determine the full extent of the systems and gain control, they didn't take the time to explore a hidden section of the colony vessel. Which was only three blocks away from the reactor room and led to another hidden launch port. Inside they would have found a massive number of strange beast-like machines, foremost of all were three armored cat-like mecha with unique armor components in various sections, that began to growl silently as they received their masters' psychic signals.

--

("Zarreke. Are you well?") Brandon asked his partner

("I'm still in perfect operational status, but I feel different somehow.")

("I feel a bit different also Scott, as if my systems were boosted by some waves of unknown energy.")

Rikera said to his own comrade.

("You don't seem to be damaged at all Rikera, but you seem to have been altered somehow.")

Scott answered as he mentally checked up his partner.

(" Kail, are you also okay?") Lance asked his Zoid.

(" Yeah, but I feel as if I'm stronger than ever.")

The three brothers nodded in agreement. Something happened that somehow altered the power and performance of their Ligers, it didn't endanger their systems and motor functions, but seemed to be totally beneficial. They then checked themselves and found their bodies to be also altered, in terms of their already formidable physical skills and energy wielding abilities. It wasn't life threatening so they decided to let it pass. They now focused on what they should do now.

--

In the depths of the old Ikazuchi, a panel opened up at the base of a crystal covered statue. Out crept the coward Bart, who had been in hiding all throughout what had occurred before and after the explosion. As he looked about in the desire to know what had happened to the ship, a shiver ran down his spine as he knew that he was in BIG trouble. As he moved around a piece of crystallized bulkhead gave way, narrowly crushing the young cadet, he let out a scream and fell hard on his rear.

"Damn it! This ISN'T funny!"

It was then that he looked up and saw that he had been discovered. A certain Dread Squadron Leader was standing in front of him and aiming her laser-ring at him, and her thumb was only a millimeter from the firing stud.

"Uh…hi."

--

In the decontamination rooms…

"Paiway! Let us out of here! It's freezing cold!" Barnette shouted as she continued to pound on the glass as she and four others were being treated with douses of cold water. They were in their undergarments (Wolfish whistles!) and were now in the danger of being infected by the worst case of pneumonia anybody ever got.

However, the young nurse in question sat at her desk and shook her head. She wasn't letting them out until all the nasty germs were gone.

--

Later…

Magno made the decision to interrogate the prisoners and had ordered them all to be brought to the interrogation room, which was now in the old section of the Ikazuchi. Brandon and his siblings decided not to make any moves against their female captors as they; Duero and Dylan escorted under heavy guard along with BC in tow. They weren't concerned with their bonds that were placed on them by the women, they were no better than those used by the men and it would be no trouble for them to break free. The weapons trained on them won't make much in terms of difficulty. They could tell that the women behind them had good combat skills, but were not up to their level of expertise.

No, this lack of resistance was for the gathering of information, such as to where in the new universe were they, and what just happened to the whole ship. They had noted the changes that the Paeksis had made, and the changes were similar to what had happened to their Ligers. And it would be a chance to learn about the women's way of living, having been on Tarak for a month and not heeding or believing the propaganda films shown on the desert world, that had made them deeply curious as to how the women lived on their home-planet. Walking or rather jumping along with them was the NAVI robot.

As they, Duero and Max entered the interrogation room, they saw that they weren't the only prisoners, as another man was there and was also in the proverbial hot seat. As soon as they saw him, Brandon, Scott, and Lance categorized him to be a total non-combatant. He showed that he had no combat experience period. And the way he trembled made him look very pathetic.

As the four sat down, the doors opened up and in walked the Captain of the pirates.

(Great! It's the same old woman again; I wonder what she'll say this time?)

Lance thought.

Magno gave each man a once over and gave a snort. '

' So these are the only men onboard? They're all a bunch of kids."

She then gave Lance a stern yet vaguely curious glare. There was something about the young one along with his comrades, she didn't know why, but their way of behavior didn't seem to be in place of their fellow companions.

"Hey it's interrogation time! I'll tell you everything!"

The little robot began hopping around the old woman. It was already evident who's side it took.

The pirate captain looked down and smirked.

"Well, how nostalgic! A NAVI robot and this one's still in working condition."

"I'm afraid I don't follow." Duero said.

"I thought that this ship belonged to us, the men."

Dylan answered as he was curious as to how this older woman knew about this machine.

Magno gave a snort and addressed them all.

"I'll have you know that this entire vessel was actually one of a fleet of colony ships that were sent from a planet Earth to colonize other worlds. This happened long before your own fathers were even born, however your cowardly grandfathers stole this segment and fled into the dead of night."

The robot nodded as it continued with the explanations.

"They overhauled the section and added residential areas."

Magno nodded.

"That's right. We're just taking possession of it again. So technically speaking, this ship belongs to us. Now the big question is, what are we going to do with the six of you?"

She licked her lips as she said.

"Perhaps we should just roast you over a slow fire. I always did like my men's innards medium rare."

This made Bart recoil back and nearly piss in his pants, but Brandon and his brothers along with Duero and Max, remained calm. The doctors had been trained to always keep their focus. But for Lance he had grown tired and disgusted by this useless banter.

"Quit pulling my leg old one. Just what are you talking about?"

Bart looked at Lance with disbelieving eyes.

"Don't you see? She's going to cook us and eat our livers!"

Scott snorted as well.

"Let me ask you something. Have you guys EVER seen a woman in the flesh before? She doesn't fit any profile of a cannibal or monster as far as I can see."

"Are you two insane?! All men of Tarak know that women are monsters!"

Brandon gave a disgusted look.

"Well, here's a little tidbit of data you'll find interesting. My brothers and I were never born on Tarak, which means that in simple terms, we're not from your planet."

This announcement got Magno's attention and that of the others and she began to feel intrigued by the three men in front of her.

"Really now? If you three are not from Tarak, then why do you have Third-class citizen ID tags?"

Brandon snorted as he looked Magno in the eye.

"When our vessel landed on Tarak, the transport was so badly damaged that it would never fly again. So we decided to hack into the planetary database and established false citizen data and forged these false ID tags, while we searched for a way out of the planet. Once we found out about the Ikazuchi we decided to use that as a springboard to escape into space once more. When the time came for it's deployment we decided to board it unofficially and move on… until you and your pirates showed up."

Scott smiled a bit.

"Plus that, we've been downloading data from the Ikazuchi and determined both the history of Tarak and Mejele, and believe me when we say that you all have really odd history."

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Magno asked.

"Okay then, let's review what the data archives had on it. When the colonial fleet left Earth, which I take is the world of your ancestors, the ships were separated and the rest were able to establish other civilizations. But on the case of the Ikazuchi, you all had a crew of sixteen, both men and women."

Brandon took over.

"Now for reasons we don't know why, the crew got into one really bitter argument and decided to have nothing to do with one another. The men took this section of the colony ship, while the women took the other. Both sections landed on two different planets. Your ancestors landed on a resource rich planet with the more technological section and were able to prosper."

He then talked to Duero, Max and Bart.

"While your ancestors took the less technological section and landed on the sterile world, and had to rely on innate survival instinct and what they brought with them and in time they also prospered, though slowly. Thus both the women dominated planet of Megele was born and the male dominated planet of Tarak was born."

Lance then took over.

"Now on this war between your cultures, since this has been going on for some time. Since the time of both cultures, they pretty much isolated one another and had no solid contact for what… a hundred years? Since that time it's natural to assume that both cultures would spread myths and rumors about the opposite gender. And in order to maintain the said fear and hatred of the other gender, then the government would make propaganda films and horror stories."

Brandon also began to smile.

"Not only that, you've all got some real weird rumors about men… You women think we men carry diseases, while in the case of the men, they think you women are monsters and you eat their livers. And from what I've seen you used that fear well, with those formless spacesuits and scary masks, they help give your crew a good psychological edge when fighting."

Lance laughed a bit loudly at that.

"Those rumors have got to be the worst lies and garbage my brothers and me have ever heard of. What kind of oddball information agency did you all have on the planets you lived in anyway?"

--

Elsewhere…

Dita and Ezra enjoyed looking at the void of stars via viewscreen while being in the newly formed Bio-Garden.

"We all heard that the Paeksis was a source of immense power, but we never knew it could do this! And we never knew that it could send us to a new galaxy!" the gentle woman exclaimed.

"It's the power of the aliens Ezra!" Dita sighed with a blissful expression as she admired the garden alongside the gentle bridge officer. "I wonder whether I'll be transformed also if I'm abducted?"

She then turned to see Ezra, breathing a bit harder than before.

"Ezra, are you all right?"

"I'm fine Dita; I just remembered the others at the hideout."

"I know, we all left the veterans back at the base before we left."

Dita looked out in the stars and became excited as she spotted something coming. "Look at that Ezra!"

Ezra looked through her special camera and detected several objects approaching the ship in high speed. "What are those things?"

Dita came in with a glazed starry eyed look coupled with cat ears as certain images of little green men and floating discs came into mind. "Don't you know Ezra, those are MORE aliens!"

--

Back at the interrogation chamber…

Magno's eyes narrowed and BC became quite tense; their expressions told the three Reinhart siblings that they hit the target dead center.

"You can call us wrong, since the data in the ship's data banks are rather old and most of what we've said is merely guess work."

Duero nodded.

"Are you part of the elite? Only the elite had records of the past, and no one else could possibly have them."

Dylan nodded in agreement as he too knew that no one other than the elite could ever have records of the past. The brothers then considered the facts… could these three men really be from another world? And if that was true… then they may be correct in their explanations on how they got in the Ikazuchi.

Magno remained silent for a moment then gave Brandon and his siblings a simple smile.

"You three are very good to have figured everything out. Now I'll ask you a question. What are you're names?"

"Brandon Reinhart."

"Scott Reinhart."

"Lance Reinhart."

"Well, Brandon, Scott, Lance… the three of you are very interesting."

The brothers smiled a bit.

"Oh believe us captain; we're a LOT more interesting than that."

"So, care to tell me where you all really came from?"

It was then that the whole ship shuddered from an impact from the outside. The alarms blared out as the bridge crew called in and announced that they were under attack.

--

"CAPTAIN! We're being attacked by an unknown enemy force that came out of nowhere!" Parfet declared as she checked out the systems of the fused ship.

"Can you move the ship?' Magno asked over the communication networks.

"Sorry, but the engines are still offline! And the auto-defensive systems are just barely repelling the attacks."

Magno immediately switched to the Dread crews and the launch areas. "Barnette!"

--

"Paiway has us all locked in the decontamination chambers! We can't get out!"

--

"The main Dread platforms are also offline! We can't launch any fighters!" Gascogne reported as she and her staff tried their best to get the ship online.

--

The only good news came from Meia as she, Dita, and Jura ran towards their Dreads, which were still in the Paeksis reactor room. However, as they got to their Dreads, they stopped and gasped.

Within the room were their fighters, but each had taken new configurations after being engulfed by the Paeksis.

"Are those… ours?" Jura asked as she gazed in awe at her Dread.

"WOW!"

Dita gasped.

Meia paused in awe for a moment, but immediately ran to her fighter and got onboard. The other Dread pilots followed their leader and checked out their systems.

Inside her Dread, Meia nodded in approval. "Looks like the systems haven't been changed much. How about the two of you?"

"I think mine will fly." Jura replied via her comlink.

"They must have been powered up!" Dita responded with joy in her voice. "This is so exciting!"

"Don't try to take on all of them alone!" Meia warned as she lifted her ship off the floor and flew in the direction of the hanger followed by Jura and Dita. They soon arrived in the void of space, and were immediately greeted by the… enemy.

--

The attacking vessels were unlike any type of ship the women pirates were aware of. Small fighter craft the resembled odd-shaped octopus types unleashed a barrage of laser and cannon bolts at the fused vessels and their trio of defenders. Some distance away was the enemy alien mothership, which resembled a large seed. Once in a while it's maw opened and it would release twin cubes, which immediately broke apart into even more fighters. It seemed that for every fighter the Dreads took out three to four more would arrive to take their fallen comrade's place. It wasn't long before the Dreads found themselves outnumbered.

--

"Excuse me please! We're really a peaceful race!" Dita cried out as she made her craft dodge the barrage of incoming fire from the unknown alien machines.

"Dita! These are our enemies! This no time to act like this a social gathering!" Jura scolded, she then began to wonder why Dita's flying skills had improved so dramatically. She had just pulled of a complex evasion pattern.

As soon as she took down another alien fighter, Meia noticed that her ship's response time was far better then before. "The controls have been altered somewhat." She winced as she suffered a hit on the stern. "Who or what are these things? Are they really aliens?"

"Well, the one thing I'm sure of is they're definitely not men." Jura assured.

"No kidding! They're really BAD aliens!" Dita screamed.

--

Bart gasped as he was led towards the transformed bridge which consisted of two comm stations with two other stations for data gathering and what appeared to be some sort of pool filled with green-blue fluid which extended outward. He had managed to weasel his way out of the possibility of being shot by claiming to be a helmsman for the ship, and his two other Tarak companions were already chosen as medical officers by the Captain, and they were running to the medical bay to treat their patient. The three other men were to be sent to a cargo bay for later questioning.

"So can you operate it?" Magno asked.

Bart walked forward and looked down at the glowing blue-green liquid. "You have got to be kidding!"

As he walked away in fear of what might happen.

"Are you saying you don't know how to operate it?"

Magno then glared at the young man, she was beginning to think that she had made a mistake by trusting the blond coward.

"No! It's not that! It's just that this has been one of our military's best kept secret weapons!"

He moved cautiously and extended one leg toward the pool, then let out a scream as the liquid came alive and grasped his leg with a tentacle to grab his leg and pull him in.

Both Magno and the robot stared with wide eyes.

"That's some secret weapon." The old woman breathed.

"He doesn't know how to operate it, does he?" The robot said.

--

Inside the gel, Bart found himself buck-naked and in what appeared to be a virtual reality representation of the outside environment. All of a sudden, he saw the images of the battle being waged by the Dreads and the unknown forces and he reacted with his natural streak of cowardice.

"NO! GET AWAY!"

As he thrashed about, the entire ship thrashed in unison with the cadet's body movements, catching everyone onboard off-guard.

"Well what do you know? The ship moved!" Magno commented.

It was on that same time that engines came to life as Bart used the oldest tactic in the book, retreat.

However, the alien mothership had no intention of losing its target that easily; it followed them while unleashing even more fighters.

--

Down in the cargo bay areas, Brandon and his siblings were left standing in an unused area as Buzam and a subordinate kept watch over the three of them.

"You three should be safe down here. This portion of the ship hasn't been used, and it would be too much trouble to keep the three of you in the brig at this point."

"We understand, though it's better that you let us go out and fight." Scott said as he looked out a nearby porthole.

BC looked a bit surprised at them.

"You three want to fight? Against who? The enemy outside or us women… No I think that it would be better that you help out, just as your fellow men are helping out and risking their lives. How do you three plan on helping?"

Brandon shrugged a bit. "We don't exactly have a clue yet. But I do need to ask you one good question… BC right?"

"Yes, what question is that?"

"What's your reason to fight?"

"My reason? I decided long ago that when I joined the pirates that no matter how things work out I'll always fight for my comrades, and for my own survival. I made that decision and I am ready to live with the consequences. That's my reason."

"I see. Do us a favor. My brothers and I will discuss what we'll do. When we've made up our minds, we'll send you a call, so you can leave us here, you however can be assured that we won't leave the ship, since we don't have anywhere to go anyway."

Buzam looked at Brandon and then to Scott and Lance. This normally would not suit well with her to leave prisoners behind, but she understood that they had nowhere to go anyway, so why stop them?

"Fine, you're going to be alone here." BC said as she walked to the exit and motioned for her subordinate to follow her.

"But what about them?"

BC shrugged.

"Leave them. They'll stay here to decide what they'll do. There isn't any place for them to go anyway, like they said. Not there isn't any place for us to go also."

--

Out in space, the Dreads were slowly being overwhelmed by the increasing numbers of alien fighters and the ship itself was taking a strong pummeling from it's pursuers. In the sick bay, Duero decided that since the medical facilities were still offline, then he and Max would have to do things THEIR way. That made the female aiding them VERY nervous as she whipped out her communicator and called in desperation for Paiway.

Speaking of whom, in the decontamination rooms, which were now flooded, the apprentice nurse, began screaming for all of them to stop getting hurt.

The ship ran for it's life like the small fish being chased by the bigger fish, but the alien mothership closed the gap even more.

--

Back in the storage bays…

"What do you guys think?"

"I think that we should help them, it doesn't matter what they think about men in general."

"I agree, they aren't just going to last with three Dreads out there."

Brandon looked at his siblings and smiled at their stern expressions. Mom would be proud of them, and she would understand that they can't ever turn their backs on those who needed help, whether accepted or not. Though they wanted to find their mother badly, they were taught by her and their father, that no matter what, they could never turn their backs on others.

"Good, I think we should make a call." Brandon then moved up and reached for a communicator.

--

"We're going to fight, Captain." Brandon said simply as he got in touch with the bridge through the communication systems.

"What did you say?" Magno asked.

"Those three Dreads aren't going to hold the line at the rate the enemy keeps going at it, right? My brothers and I intend to lend them a hand."

BC strode forward. "Before that, I want to ask you something Brandon. What's your reason to help us?"

Brandon smiled at that. "You don't need a reason to help people in need. You just help them. That is what you could call our incentive." Scott and Lance nodded in agreement.

Magno smiled a bit, and then decided to ask them how they intended to help. "Are the three of you… pilots? Can you three pilot those Vanguards?"

"Those hunks of junk? No."

"If you three aren't Vanguard pilots, then how do you all expect to fight, can you fly Dreads?"

"We're pilots all right, but we don't pilot Vanguards or Dreads. Besides, we haven't been in a Dread, how do you expect us to be Dread pilots?"

"Then what will you use to fight?"

"We've stowed our own personal machines in the Ikazuchi. All we need now is the go signal from you, Captain."

Magno looked at them, and could see the seriousness in their eyes. Though she had no idea what these strangers have in mind, she had no other choice at this point. She nodded to BC to release them from the manacles on their wrists. Just as the first officer was about to press the button…

"No need for that." Brandon said as he showed a pair of crushed restraints in his hands, so did Scott and Lance. They all had broken free already; they tossed the ruined pieces over their shoulders. They then asked. "Do we have your approval?"

"You have it, but you might have to tell me what kind of machines you plan to use."

"Don't worry, it's a guaranteed surprise."

--

Brandon and his brothers got into the secret section and entered their Ligers and began to power up the systems.

"Sorry we're late Zarreke, we had to gain a little bit of time for you all to get into combat armor. Are you all ready?"

RRRRROOOOOAAARRR!

("Yes.")

"Okay then, Guys. Let's go!"

"Roger that!" Scott and Lance said as Kail and Rikera roared in unison. Both pilots and their Zoids were now ready for battle, as they reached the launch platform, the robotic assembly arms near them got ready to launch.

Brandon got into contact with the bridge and he called the crew.

"We're all ready to go!"

"Understood, you boys had better be ready."

The section the three brothers had intended to steal had also been reformatted into a multiple system base, supply storage, weapons deck, training simulation deck, storage for spare Zoid parts, and a launching deck reserved for their Ligers and other Zoid types.

"HERE WE GO!"

--

"Reinforcements? Who is it?"

Meia asked as she and her wing mates had been in formed by the Captain that help was on the way, which was sorely needed as the number of alien fighters came in the number of at least six dozen.

"The unpredictable ones."

"Huh?"

It was then that three massive glowing white comets came streaking out of the ship in unison, heading for the battlefield.

"She's referring to us." Lance said as the images of him and his older siblings came on the screen.

"IT'S MR. ALIEN AND THE OTHER MR. ALIENS!" Dita cried out happily.

"They're our reinforcements?!"

--

The pirates were astonished, as the images of the three mecha came into view…One thing was for sure…They were NOT Vanguards

The machines were unlike anything they had ever seen before. They resembled massive beast-like mecha, totally unlike the Vanguards of the Tarak men. The machines were shaped like big predatory cats, their claws glowed with deep golden light, and they were decked in sections of white armor, and on each creature were pods that no doubt carried projectile weapons along with what appeared to be boosters on the back. One had blue eyes, another had deep emerald green eyes, and the last had violet eyes. But what was most amazing to see, was the creatures running in deep space as if they were on land.

"STRIKE LASER CLAW!"

The three men shouted, as their machines leaped in the void of space and slashed several enemy fighters in unison. The fighters blew apart, giving a glowing backdrop to the beasts as they gave one primal roar of challenge that filled the void of space as their eyes glowed fiercely.

"RRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!"

Magno looked on in awe along with the rest of her crew. "What the heck are those…?"

--

"Waaaaahhhhh!"

Dita cried out as three fighters managed to close in and threaten to ram her Dread. However, two rail gun bolts hit two of the fighters and the last seemed to explode. She opened her eyes and found the last one inside the teeth of one of the white armored creatures that were beside her Dread.

Her communications screen came online as Lance's face appeared. "Are you all right?"

"Mr. Alien!"

"Will you please stop calling me Mr. Alien? My name's Lance." Lance replied in annoyance as Kail released the mangled fighter from its mouth.

"I think the name's kind of nice, don't you think?" Scott said in humor as he and Rikera focused on their enemies while unleashing a barrage of laser rounds, taking down more alien fighters.

"What are you getting at brother?!"

"Can it guys, time to take the fight to them." Brandon ordered as he and Zarreke charged into the fray, unleashing a barrage of laser bolts.

"We're on it!" Scott and Lance shouted as they and their Ligers rushed into battle, leaving behind the Dreads and their pilots.

The Ligers immediately smashed into the morass of alien fights, Brandon, Scott, and Lance began pulling intricate battle maneuvers that defied the laws of Zoid combat as the gravity actuators installed in their Zoids' bodies granted them an unbelievable edge in battle. Running around in angles all over the place and leaping in amazing movements, they were able to decimate the alien fighters with minimum difficulty with claw attacks and slashes and teeth, along with laser bolts and rail gun rounds. They activated their power boosters and cut down even more fighters as they nimbly dodged each and every attack thrown at them by their latest opponents and responded in kind with laser claw swipes and bites. Coupled with the Organoid systems in their transformed Ligers and their own latent combat skills, the three Reinhart brothers were having a ball slaughtering the alien fighters. The alien forces were now reduced to a mere three dozen as the Ligers and their pilots faced the alien mothership, with a series of growls, daring the aliens to make their move as they were in the backdrop of debris of at least three dozen of the alien fighters.

--

Back at the Bridge…

Buzam was in shock. "Impossible! What kind of machines are those?!"

Magno looked on in awe and was totally speechless. She had to admit one thing. Brandon was right, he and his brothers were a LOT more interesting than she knew, and their machines were indeed a surprise.

--

Out in space onboard three certain Dreads…

"They're so… elegant!"

Jura said with a great degree of appreciation as she eyed longingly the three Ligers, and began imagining her piloting one of those mecha.

"YAY TO THE GOOD ALIENS!!"

Dita cheered.

Meia said nothing as she took witness of the Ultimate X Zoids in battle. But if the pirate crew and the men thought that was all the machines and their pilots were capable of doing… they were wrong.

--

The alien ship responded the challenge by unleashing even more cubes that broke into fighters, as if had made the right conclusion that the new units were the main threats. The void of space was now filled by three dozen more fighters. However that meant more targets for the Zoid pilots to destroy.

Brandon ordered the change of armor.

"ZARREKE! SWITCH STANDARD ARMOR AND MOBILIZE YAGER ARMOR!"

His brothers followed suit.

"RIKERA! SWITCH STANDARD ARMOR AND MOBILIZE SCHNEIDER ARMOR!"

"KAIL! SWITCH STANDARD ARMOR AND MOBILIZE PANZER ARMOR!

The three Ligers were bathed in a corona of blue light as they stood sentinel and then the light faded as the three Ligers were now decked in their masters' specialty armor.

Brandon's Liger's white armor was replaced by sections of blue armor and trimmed with white. The armor appeared similar to the standard armor but was more designed for speed and for mobility. On the back were two high output Ion Booster Thrusters, but the armor had been changed a bit to actually have the Boosters turned into enhanced Charged Ion Booster Thrusters. And the gun pods in the front were upgraded to have two extra gun pods and the rapid laser cannons were fused along with the armor, and the armor seemed to have gained extra power, no doubt from the event that triggered the power wave release. The newly transformed Liger roared in primal anger and waited for the alien forces to attack.

Scott's Liger's own standard armor was replaced by slightly bulkier sections of crimson armor and trimmed with blue. The armor was an opposite of Brandon's specialist armor but had at least several high output thrusters, though these were not in the caliber of the Yager Charged Ion Boosters. There were five specially made blades near the head armor section and four others on special pods on the back of the newly transformed Liger. But when closely inspected the blades had changed from their usually blue color to a deep emerald green hue and were thicker and sharper than before and they glowed with a light green hue as well. Scott had added the two extra blades into the Schnieder armor to add extra power to the system's specialty in close range battle while adding his own Gatling laser guns to the armor. The new Liger gave a threatening growl of it's own to it's enemies.

Lance's Liger's standard armor was replaced with several powerful sections of heavy high tensile strength green metal armor and what appeared to be two double barreled cannons known as Hybrid Cannons on the back, along with those were a massive number of missile pods in the legs and sides. The armor had been originally bulky and overweight, but Lance had made special changes to his own special armor, which reduced the weight and allowed the Liger to still fight with it's Strike Laser claws without losing the armor's high defensive output. But he also installed a specially designed cooling system, and with the gravity actuator units in Kail made Lance's own Ultimate X Liger capable of fighting without the fear of overheating. And the Hybrid Cannons were given an unlimited power load to continuos fire and were aided by the three rail guns, and the missile pods were also altered to not run out of ordinance. The new Liger growled in challenge to the newly added alien fighters.

The battle locked on once more and this time as the machines and the transformed Ligers charged into battle.

Brandon activated the Boosters and the Liger excelled its speed to great levels, he charged straight to the very cloud of the first group of alien fighters with the wings providing balance as Brandon activated the gun pods and rained rounds at the incoming alien attackers. The Liger's Ion Boosters suddenly glowed as particles began to concentrate into the thrusters' intakes along with more glowing lines on the armor.

"I think it's time for a real dash! SONIC WAVE!"

The Liger growled as the thrusters suddenly opened a lot wider as a massive wave of charged ion particles followed the Liger's path and on the outlines of the Liger's armor. Zarreke burst right through the cloud of alien fighters and the fighters were incinerated by the waves following the Liger as the ions melted their armor and fried their circuits.

Brandon directed Zarreke to the next cloud of alien fighters and easily evaded the incoming barrage of laser bolts. He then activated his Zoid's laser claws, and dived in.

"LASER CLAW BLITZ!"

The Liger lashed out with laser claw swipes that showed only flashes of light as it moved like a lightning bolt through the fighters. Once Brandon's Zoid passed through the mess, the fighters exploded into dissected pieces a moment later, with Zarreke growling in victory.

Scott took his turn as he activated the dual blades on the special back thrusters, two blades facing forward and the other two one the sides, and decimated a large group of alien fighters before they could even return fire. Then a line of fighters began unleashing a barrage of concentrated fire. Scott smiled as he retracted the blades on the sides and activated the ones on the head. Three blades appeared with the top most being longer than the ones on the sides of the face.

"BUSTER SLASH!"

The Liger smashed through the line of alien fighters like a hot knife through butter. Alien armor proved a futile defense as the three blades busted through the line of alien fighters and the power of the blades cut through even more fighters, ripping them to pieces.

More fighters came in as the aliens tried desperately to thwart Scott and his Liger's assault. Scott smiled as he activated the other blades and charged forward with all the blades at the ready. Two on the side and two facing forwards, with all the head blades extended.

"NINTH BLADE ASSAULT!"

The blades unleashed a lightning storm of energy, blade to blade and formed a blazing corona of power that covered the Liger from head to tail and from blade tip to blade tip on the sides. The alien fighters never had a chance as the Liger tore through them all without a single inch of difficulty. The Liger then retracted it's blades and gave a defiant roar as the area around it was littered with debris.

Lance took his turn as the aliens charged. He unleashed a barrage of rail gun rounds once he stopped and held on without leaving his position. Once the fighters were in a loose but grouped line after dodging the attacks, they began to fire volley after volley of laser bolts at him, but the armor held the attacks and just made the attacks bounce off without causing any damage. Lance smiled as he activated his own weapons in response… namely.

"My turn boys… HYBRID CANNONS!"

The cannons on the Liger's back absorbed a massive amount of outside particles and energy from it's power reactors and fired two large beams of destruction, that totally caught the alien fighters by surprise. The beams smashed into the alien forces and ionized them in a moment, including even those that managed to dodge the beams path only slightly, as the flow of energy is so strong that it catches anything within the vicinity; the remaining fighters were finished off by the automated rail guns.

The last group of surviving fighters banded together and attacked the last Liger from all sides and also kept their distance as they didn't want to be caught in the blasting areas of the Hybrid Cannons.

"Mr. Alien!" Dita cried as she watched the bad aliens bombard Lance and his Liger.

"Don't worry about Lance. He'll be fine."

Brandon said as he got into contact with the young redhead.

"Just watch."

Dita didn't want to watch, but she didn't stop either. Magno and those of her crew thought that the man and his machine were done for and so did the aliens. No one and nothing could survive such a barrage.

The fighters stopped and were greeted by the sight of the Liger being totally undamaged…

"WOW!"

Dita said with wide starry eyes while every female on the pirate vessel and the men were shocked speechless.

"Heh! You boys are really going to get it now!"

Lance shouted as combat panels appeared all over his cockpit and they immediately showed him all the alien fighters, with target sights on them.

"BURNING BIG BANG!"

The Liger released a strong barrage of light, and that was immediately followed by literally hundreds of micro and medium missiles that streamed out. The alien fighters were totally caught by surprise and so was their mothership as it narrowly covered its maw. The fighters were bombarded by the missiles and were decimated in a few moments after the missiles launched from the Liger's missile pods. The whole of space was lighted up by explosions and were covered in debris of the alien fighters and only the alien mothership was left with the Ligers advancing on it slowly like predators on a wounded and vulnerable target.

--

"Amazing! Did you see that?!"

"Wow!"

"Incredible!" BC said as she watched as the battle was over in minutes, if she thought that the strange beast machines and their pilots were deadly in their standard armor… "They… wiped out the whole enemy force in a matter of five minutes! What are they?!"

Magno looked on with awe in her eyes, never uttering a word.

--

The alien vessel opened it's maw once more and was about to unleash even more fighters, Lance growled a bit and retaliated.

"HYBRID CANNONS!"

The cannons once more unleashed their power, ionizing the cubes before they could be deployed and smashing into the alien vessel, but he was a bit surprised to find the alien mothership severely damaged but still in operational condition.

"That one's got some tough armor. I'll deal with him." Lance said as he and Kail moved in for the kill.

"Lance, hold it!" Brandon and Scott shouted in unison as they watched their youngest sibling charge off recklessly.

However, he wasn't alone as a certain Dread fighter followed him in.

"Dita! What are you doing?! Fall back!" Meia ordered as she saw the redhead charge in, following the green armored beast machine.

"Don't worry! This is nothing! Mr. Alien and the other Mr. Aliens can win! I just know it!"

--

As Lance primed up his Hybrid Cannons for a real up close shot, Kail captured his attention.

("Don't look now but we're being followed.")

Lance looked back and immediately recognized the Dread and saw Dita on his communication screen.

"No! Get out of here!"

The alien vessel took this chance as it launched it's own attack and unleashed a large group of metallic tendrils that struck Lance's Liger on the side. At almost the same time, Dita's Dread collided with his Liger headlong.

The alien vessel unleashed a high amount of explosive energy and caused both the Liger and the Dread to be covered in a bright explosion.

"DITA!" Meia cried.

"You…Idiot!" Jura said with tears nearly threatening to run down her eyes.

On the bridge of the pirate vessel, Magno lowered her head and said, "Well, I guess that even they couldn't give us a miracle to save us all."

BC nodded as she prepared to give the order to abandon ship. Then Brandon called in.

"If you think that we'll leave our brother and you should abandon the ship, then you're wrong to think of both, besides, it's entirely not over yet."

At that, the Navi robot let out a beep and pointed excitedly to the main screen. Something massive was coming out from the center of the explosion.

--

It was… big. The new mecha was at least five stories high. It seemed like Lance's Liger in the Panzer armor, but it was more massive in size and was in blue colored armor, with green trim and crystals imbedded in various areas of the armor. There were four cannon barrels on the back and mounted on the sides were what appeared to be crystal beam blades. On each leg of the enhanced Liger were larger laser claws and glowed with a fierce blue-green light. The mecha looked menacing enough to rip a planet to shreds with it's advanced arsenal. What everyone was witnessing was the perfect fusion between Zoid and Dread Fighter… The ZoidDread! ()

"Well I'll be!"

Brandon said as he looked in awe at his brother's and the redhead's fused machines.

"Now THAT'S impressive!" Scott said as he gazed at the new mecha.

Rikera and Zarreke roared their own agreement as they witnessed their companion Ultimate X's new fusion with the girl's machine.

"What is THAT? Is this another secret weapon?!" Magno asked, as her eyes were wide at the sight.

"Is this… a real miracle?" Buzam wondered.

--

The huge beast machine dove towards the alien vessel. Several smaller attack drones were released by the mothership in an attempt to stop it, but the drones were easily swatted aside like annoying gnats as the cannons became massive beam blades and cut anything they came into contact with. The ship then tried to seal itself in, but the new mecha just tore it open with the beam blades and held the ship's maw open with it's claws. Then the mammoth cannons that had became blades retracted and became a massive set of four cannons, pointing forward. The power cannons glowed with a fierce light as they powered up and then unleashed a blast of destructive energy that dwarfed the Hybrid Cannons at least ten times. The energy caused the back of the alien vessel to bulge outward before exploding. The mecha moved back and the alien ship exploded like a supernova. The sight awed pirate crew and men alike. When it was all over, all that was left of the alien vessel was a burnt out husk.

--

Within the giant beast mecha, Lance breathed a sigh of relief, but he then noted something odd.

"Wait a minute! What kind of cockpit is this? This isn't my Liger's cockpit! Why is it also that there seems to be some weight on my legs? Kail! Where the heck are we now?"

("I'm still here Lance, but as far as I can tell, something had allowed me to fuse with this machine called a Dread.")

Lance looked about and had to admit that the new cockpit was really different. He was sitting on a chair. He noted that his hands were on a pair of control interface pads of the newly formed machine of his Liger and that Dread, but then he looked and spotted that his hands were resting on another pair of hands. That was when he looked and found himself realizing just why he felt that there was someone in the cockpit with him!

("My, who's the girl?")

"I think her name's Dita. But I've got a better question, how did she get in here?"

"Hmm. I just KNEW that Mr. Alien and the other Mr. Aliens would protect us."

Dita said in a happy yet half-sleepy voice as she leaned back on Lance and snuggled closer.

Lance had a really big sweatdrop on his head as he looked at his unexpected co-pilot.

"My, getting cozy with the redhead, aren't you brother?"

Brandon said as his image appeared on the communication systems of the mecha, with him wearing a knowing smirk.

"What the heck are you getting at?!"

"They look real good together, I wonder what mom would say if she saw this?"

Scott said as he checked in with his own smirk.

"Stop it you guys!"

--

The pirate crew and the men all stood in the hanger bay as the gigantic ZoidDread came in for a landing with the other Ligers following it. Just as the ZoidDread was about to land, it reverted back to Dita's Dread fighter. As soon as it landed a section opened and out came a massive beam of light that reverted into Lance's Ultimate X Liger, still in it's Panzer armor. It landed, as it's other Liger counterparts also landed, causing a massive metallic clang. The beasts then reared back and unleashed a power-filled roar of triumph, making everyone rather nervous.

The pirates and the Tarak men watched as the cockpits opened and the three Zoid pilots leaped out of their machines and landed on the floor. The guards immediately reacted and raised their weapons and aimed at them, wary of these strange men and their machines, but shrank back as the Ligers suddenly growled and stepped forward threateningly.

"Zarreke!"

"Rikera!"

"Kail!"

The pirate captain and her crew looked surprised as the massive beasts obeyed their pilots and stopped advancing.

"Captain, you and your crew are better off if you lower your weapons. The Ligers don't like it if you draw weapons on us." Brandon said as he stepped forward, along with his brothers.

Magno nodded in agreement and ordered her crew to stand down, after what she had seen; making enemies of these unknown men would be proving dangerous… especially in front of these machines.

Brandon turned to the Ligers and spoke out. "Remember that these women aren't the enemy, so don't give them any trouble. You hear me Zarreke?"

The blue eyed Liger nodded as it growled a bit in compliance.

Scott turned to his partner. "Rikera, you do the same, and try not to bite anyone of them."

The green eyed Liger nodded and growled.

"Same thing to you also Kail." Lance said as he faced his Liger.

The violet eyed one nodded and growled as well.

The three Zoid pilots then turned to face the captain. "What do you plan to do now?"

Magno turned and ordered her security teams to escort the men. "Take them all back to their cell." The old woman ordered, and faced the three men. "I still don't know much about you three, so if you don't mind."

"No worries here. Let's go guys." Brandon said as he and his siblings walked to their cell, while being under heavy escort by the guards.

"Wait! Mr. Alien!"

Dita cried as she rushed out after disembarking from her Dread. However, more guards blocked her way to Lance and his older siblings as they were being taken away. She gave a pleading look to Magno, but the old woman ignored it as she stared at the three machines in front of her, she then turned to Buzam and gave her an order. The first officer nodded in agreement and called in Parfet.

To be continued…

--

Hi. Brandon here. Looks like we've really got the Megele pirates' attention with Zarreke, Rikera, and Kail. And it seems to be really a strange situation for my brothers and me along with all the females onboard. It seems that the whole ship's been really transformed along with our Ligers, like what happened to Lance and Kail. And for some reason, I can't seem to shake this odd feeling in my gut that we're now involved in something big.

You're telling them Brother. By the way, the pirates, namely that silver-haired one named BC, wants us to go look for some of their comrades who've been sent out on a retrieval mission to the wreck Lance totaled with the help of that cute redhead… what's her name…? Oh yeah, Dita. Hey… You think something's going to happen between them?

Who knows Scott, maybe…

Hey! Will you guys knock it off?!

Next time on ZoidDread Chapter 3: The Journey home begins. See you all on the battlefield!

Author's notes:

This wraps up Chapter 1 of ZoidDread and now the Zoids are in action! This chapter's new so it still will need corrections. If anybody's got suggestions, then an e-mail is nice. The three brothers have their own combat skills and it shows in their use of the armor of their Ligers. Brandon's style is fast, precise, and critical. Scott's style is close range, savage, and totally instinctual, and Lance's style is more on the long range, bombard and suppress style.

(+) Think the Liger Zero In Panzer form, but with some beam blades, beam claws, and four massive cannons on the back, which can split open ala Berserk Fury style. And decked in massive armor from the Dread, for extra defensive protection. What? I am using ZOIDS after all, NOT Vanguards so things are going to be real different now!


	4. The journey home begins

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: Zoids and VanDread don't belong to me whatsoever. So tough luck for you fee hungry lawyers in the mood for a fat bonus from me!

( ): Thoughts

Chapter 3

The Journey Home Begins

Magno sighed as she journeyed down the corridors towards the bridge in the fused pirate ship. The day before had been quite an interesting day, with six new men onboard, three of them claiming that they were never born on Talark, and the proof was the knowledge they had about Megele and Tarak history. And those…interesting mecha they called Zoids.

She thought back on the conversations she had with the crew of the ship.

--

Flashback…

"Continue with your report, BC."

Magno said to Buzam. Beside her was Meia Gisborn, her leader in the Dread teams.

The first officer nodded as she began showing the latest images of their fused vessel on a holographic imager.

"Yes, Captain. The entire vessel has been completely covered by the crystals of the Paeksis, The bridge, the residential areas, along with the engineering section have been completely transformed. Fortunately, the Register systems and the Dread launching platforms were unaffected by the transformation, and we're in the process of installing the new data into the systems. It seems that the Paeksis Phlagma reactor has finally reached it's peak. The bridge has stopped sliding and is currently overlooking the ship's Bio-Garden."

"And do we have any idea what position we are in now in the map?"

The captain inquired as she continued to cool herself with a hand fan. The ship's environmental control systems were still not in good working order so the average temperature in the ship was at least thirty degrees Celsius.

The holographic images changed into a star chart as BC continued to explain.

"It's hard to believe, but we seem to be in a totally different galaxy from our own. The approximate time of travel back to Megele and Tarak space is at least 270 days at best."

The old woman sighed.

"What ever did we do to deserve being sent into a new part of the universe?"

She then turned to Meia.

"What do you have to report?"

The blue-haired female nodded as she started.

"The three Dreads that were transformed by the Paeksis, including mine, no longer fit on the regular Dread platforms. So we modified the launch bay on the men's side of the ship where the strange men's mecha had been launched from and we're storing them there, plus that's the only place where we can launch the Dreads. While we were doing that, we've made some discoveries of our own. It seems that this section of the ship hasn't been used for a very long time. The circuits and cables are all decayed and useless."

"I see... And what about our enemies?"

"I'd decided to deploy a scouting team to gather whatever data we can salvage from the wreckage of the alien mothership. Since we're a little bit short handed at the moment, I asked for… volunteers."

"Volunteers?"

Meia sighed as she decided to explain just who she sent out to do the dirty work of identifying their attackers.

End of Flashback…

Magno wondered just how things were going with the scouting team, namely with a certain bubbly girl at the helm…

--

Speaking of whom…

"WOW! Look at that! It's an Adamsky- type UFO! Did you see it Ms. Gasco?"

Gascogne sighed as she sat behind Dita in her Dread. This was going to be one LONG investigation.

--

WHOOOSSSSH!

Brandon winced as he was doused with a blast of cold water as he was practically buck naked and soon got another dousing of the water. Alongside him were his brothers Scott and Lance, Duero McFile, Dylan Krueger, and Bart Garsus, as they all were also in their birthday suits and were being given the decontamination treatment in the same cubicle that had housed several females, namely a certain green-haired girl. The fact that the women used ice cold water as their treatment tool didn't help matters all that much. The good news was that the women had the decency to fog up the glass doors… AND they were not in the room either.

Watching them all from a monitor on the bridge, Magno and Buzam considered their prisoners with the decency to look only at their faces.

"So these are the only men onboard?"

Buzam nodded.

"Yes, Captain. It appears we'll have to rely upon them all until we fully understand this ship we're using now."

"Yes." The pirate captain agreed as she recalled to the time of the battle. When the enemies were totally wiped out, the ship went to standby mode and released Bart from the navigation well. "I have never seen anything like it in all my years. And those other three…"

She shivered a bit as she recalled the destruction that Brandon and his siblings started with their machines. The fact was that they had ordered their machines not to cause trouble for them was a sign that there was no hostile intention in the three brothers and things were stable… for now. She didn't need a wide imagination to know what would have happened if the three decided to have them as the enemy. That is if they were with their beast mechas. The machines were now impounded by BC and were now being analyzed by Parfet, but the pirate captain still felt a little by anxious about all that had happened.

--

The brig…

"It was so unnerving."

Bart whined as he tried to strike up a conversation with his fellow prisoners. Sitting nearby were Brandon and his siblings as they gulped down a generous heaping of food pellets. The things tasted awful, but they had learned to make due with what they had with them. Besides… they were able to find the pellets to quite filling and the physical drain of using the Organoid System could be seen and felt, along with using the specialized armor.

"One after another, all my comrades fell all around me, until I was the only one left!" Bart babbled on, intent on his plan to gain the support of his fellow prisoners. "But I knew that I had to keep on going in order to retake the ship from the women. And now fate had given me five able allies! What do you say?"

He gazed intently at Brandon and on his younger siblings, as he knew that their great skills and their weird yet extremely powerful machines were more than enough to defeat the women.

Dylan shook his head at Bart.

"I'm sorry to say this to you, but the three of them aren't from our planet considering the facts in front of us."

"But they're men like us!" Bart insisted.

"True, we're men like you. But we don't consider the women our enemies, since we're not born on your planet, and so we're not into this war between your planet and the planet of the women."

Brandon said as he finished his plate.

"Then where do you three come from, if not from Tarak?"

Duero asked as he looked at his fellow prisoners in curiosity.

"And where did you come by such powerful beasts?"

Scott nodded as he finished his own plate.

"We come from another section of the galaxy. In fact we are from another dimension so to speak."

"Another dimension?"

Dylan asked, rather intrigued at the prospect.

"Yeah right!"

Bart asked in disbelief.

"Please don't mind my comrade. I'm more interested as to where your world is." Duero asked.

"So am I."

Dylan said.

Lance finished his plate and took over.

"We were part of an expedition team that launched from our home-world at least five years before your ancestors launched into space. When we were in space, a space anomaly that turned out to be a rip in the fabric of our universe opened and swallowed our main exploration ship. When we arrived in your dimension we were forced to abandon the main ship and escape in other smaller ships, while we were escaping, something also 'froze' us in time so to speak."

Brandon then took over.

"When the effects wore off, we landed on a small but habitable planetoid, after we finished repairing our transport; we decided to travel around this new cosmos in search of our… fellow explorers. And so through our travels, we eventually landed on Tarak, and got stuck there for at least a month, due to the damages our transport suffered."

"And what about you're mechanical companions?"

Duero asked.

"Our Zoids? They've been our constant companions since our younger days. On our world, we have metallic life forms known as Zoids. They're all modeled from various beasts and are used in various jobs, but they are all warriors in nature and design, therefore serve in the same function as your Vanguards. As machines of war and for other matters as well."

"But how is it that you're able to communicate with them?"

Dylan asked.

"The A.I of our individual Zoids are actually enhanced with the fusion of what you could call Organoids. Organoids are VERY rare organic Zoids about the size of small horses, and at least reaching the height of seven feet high. They also resemble dinosaurs; they can meld with the core of a Zoid, and can boost that Zoid's power and performance by margins not reachable by normal means as the core itself is affected. Our Zoids however, are permanently melded with an individual Organoid thus the Zoid can actually learn in battle and can become even stronger and faster than before. We don't exactly know what else they can achieve, but our Zoids are many times powerful than normal and we can verbally communicate with them."

"Are you all saying that… you all are from another world?"

Bart asked still in disbelief.

"Yes we are. Didn't your comrades tell you that? Or you still don't believe us?" Lance said, as he looked at the still disbelieving blonde male.

"Yeah right! Now then, let me ask you this. How did you fuse with that female's ship?"

Bart asked the youngest sibling.

Lance then glared at Bart; he didn't like the attitude of this particular Tarak native all that much.

"I don't know exactly, and it by far isn't your concern, so will you shut up? There's too much hot air in here and the last thing we all need is more of it!" He said slowly and threateningly.

"Whoa! All right, take it easy!"

"Please try to forgive him."

Duero soothed as Brandon and Scott helped keep their young brother from losing his temper. Dylan also tried to help calm the youngest of the Reinhart siblings.

"He's just uneasy and a little bit caught up with all that's happened, so he's trying to relax through conversation."

Bart looked at Duero, impressed.

"Hey, you're pretty sharp. No wonder you and your brother are both of the elite. So how about it? With my talking, both yours and your friend's knowledge and their muscles and their mechas, then we can beat these women!"

"We're not going to help you and that's it."

Brandon said as he got a bit tired of this blonde moron, who still didn't get the message and was still going at it.

"If that is what Brandon says, then how do you plan on beating us? That I'd love to hear."

Bart stiffened as he heard BC's voice; he looked behind him and spotted the first mate with two subordinates standing in front of the cell. He could only guess on just how long the second in command was standing there.

--

"So have you determined anything about those mecha Parfet?" Magno asked as she was speaking to the head engineer of her ship through the communicator in the conference room.

The girl with the oversized glasses nodded her head and began her report.

"It seems that these mecha are called Zoids, and they seem to be solely designed for combat. The designs and functions of the mecha appear to be a fusion of Vanguard schematics and Dread systems. They can be controlled just like Dreads but have to be manipulated like Vanguards. We compared the designs of our Dreads and the Vanguards that are still here to get this result; also they are emitting energies similar to the Paeksis reactor. The first one has armor that's designed to rely solely speed and mobility. The second has armor solely designed to boost close range combat effectiveness. And the last one has armor, which is designed in increasing defensive output and heavy assault in long range. However…"

"However?"

"These mecha appear to possess a totally unknown system. It seems to be some sort of black box inside what appears to be their main core that somehow boosts the systems and allow the machines to actually 'learn' in battle. The black box seems to give these machines an A.I system totally unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"That coincides with what I've heard, captain."

Buzam called in to the communications.

"What do you mean by that BC?"

Buzam then immediately told both Parfet and Magno about what she had heard about the 'Organoids' and the true origins of the three unknown male prisoners.

"Are you telling me, BC, that those men are from another dimension? How can that be?"

"According to what I've heard. They were part of an expedition team that somehow got shot into our universe… though how it happened remained a mystery even to them, since they also were caught by surprise by it. However they now believed that it was a rip in the fabric of their universe that sent them here, along with others like them."

"And you believe that?"

"As far as I can see, Captain, that's the only explanation as to how they act and think differently from the other three men who are from Tarak. Not only that, those mechas or Zoids are unlike any machine that we have on record."

"What about this… Organoid System?"

Parfet asked, totally intrigued with the information.

Buzam then went on to an explanation as to what she had heard about the rare organic Zoids.

Magno gave a sigh. This new discovery about their unknown guests and their machines was totally surprising and very intriguing to the old pirate. She then got an idea and spoke to the head engineer.

"Parfet. Is there any way you can analyze those Organoid Systems in those Zoids and make it possible for systems like that to be installed in our Dreads?"

The head engineer gave an uncertain shrug.

" I'm not familiar with the systems in these machines just yet Captain, and as far as I can tell, the Organoid System is totally alien in design, but there is a slim chance that it can be done."

Magno leaned back and began to think over all the data she had received.

(Hmmm, it looks as if that these men are FAR more intriguing than I first thought! If what BC heard is true, then these men should prove to be QUITE interesting.)

Magno then gave BC instructions not to let this data come out just yet, until the time is right, none of the other crewmembers should know the truth, since Magno knew that her crew might think that the men were lying. She would just have to ask them personally. She then told Parfet to continue her work on the Zoids, as she switched to another line to her chief supply officer.

"Gascogne, how are you and Dita coming along with your investigation?"

--

In the engineering section of the fused ship…

The engineering section had been flooded with countless complaints from almost all sectors of the ship… chief among the complaints was the air conditioning. One new call on that particular subject just arrived from the bridge.

"What's with the air conditioning? It's at least a full thirty degrees in here!"

A bridge officer who was a blonde and going by the name of Belvedere Coco.

"Don't complain about it! It's a full thirty six degrees in here!"

Parfet's second in command in the engineering section said as she took the call. Her name was simply ''Chief' to the other engineering staff. It was then that Parfet arrived as she finished her study on the Zoids which were in storage near the same place where the Paeksis enhanced Dreads were also stored. She then unzipped her jumpsuit and tied the long sleeves around her waist showing herself to be wearing a tank top just like Dita.

"How's everything on your end?" She asked one of her fellow engineers.

The young girl gave a sigh as she went back to her task… namely restraining a certain automaton. Parfet had decided that the robot could be helpful in accessing the controls and systems of the ship once it was logged into systems.

However, the little machine was NOT cooperating.

"Beep! Don't you touch me!" It screamed as it bucked like a wild horse.

--

Meanwhile, at another section of the ship…

"As the valiant crew continued to work, Magno's family found themselves facing another crisis."

"Hey! Hold that elevator!"

Paiway looked to the side and spotted her comrades Barnette and Jura carrying various personal items in their arms. Ever since the changes made by the Paeksis and the fusion of both ships, several of the pirate crew had no other options but to change rooms.

"Slacking off again Paiway?" Barnette said in an irritated tone, no doubt not forgetting the time she nearly became a human ice block.

"Instead of just sitting down and doing nothing, why don't you do something more important?" Jura asked.

"I am doing something!" Paiway replied as she showed her trusty notebook, and then held up what appeared to be a frog puppet, and spoke in a cartoon-like voice. "Barnette and Jura sure have a lot of stuff." She then looked at her toy as if she was speaking to an old friend. "It's a really good thing that our room wasn't changed at all so we don't have to move at all, right? Kero!"

"She's really beginning to make me very angry." Jura growled.

Barnette nodded in agreement, she then noted the rope tied around Paiway's waist. "Hey, Pai, what's that rope for?"

Paiway then answered with her puppet's voice. "This is only a temporary elevator, so it won't be my fault if it falls. See you later! Kero!" The young girl was then lifted off the platform, leaving two shocked Dread pilots.

"You're kidding right?! Paiway!"

--

Inside the wreckage of the alien ship…

The head supplier spoke through her suit's communicator as she assessed the wreck.

"Progress here's real slow and things look extensive. That mecha that Dita's Dread and that beast machine from that other male pilot did a really good number on this thing. There are a lot of things to go through here. But to tell you the truth, this is not like any ship I've ever seen before. It looks more of a mobile factory than a ship."

Dita on the other hand wasn't paying attention to the conversation as she continued to take pictures of the wreck that she and her Mr. Alien had destroyed together.

"WOW! Look at that!" She exclaimed as she pointed at something. "Hey, Ms. Gasco! Can I take a look around?"

The older woman didn't want to remain here longer than they needed to be, they had a job to do and she didn't want to spend the time they have looking for the redhead should she wander off.

"Absolutely not Dita! We have a lot of things to do here, and sight seeing isn't one of them!"

Gascogne replied as she flicked her finger at Dita's helmet. In the vacuum of space, this little push sent the young Dread pilot flying backwards.

"Whoa! I can't stop!"

--

Magno chuckled as she signed off her communicator.

"Very well then. I'll leave the investigation up to you Gascogne."

She then made her chair rotate and ride down a rail from the conference room back to the bridge into her command console. Waiting for her was Buzam with Bart still in his manacles.

"Heh, heh. I hear that you wanted something from me?"

Bart asked nervously.

The old woman nodded and directed her attention to the navigation well in the front of the bridge.

"Yes, it concerns that thing; we haven't been able to operate it for some time now. So you'll have to tell us how you did it."

"Er, yes of course. Given the current situation, I have no alternatives."

He then held up his manacled hands, indicating to Buzam that he needed his hands free. The first officer nodded in agreement and pressed the release button for the manacles. Bart then walked over to the well.

"Now listen carefully. This is a male ship, so only men may operate it. So I suppose that you're all fortunate that I happen to be around. This means that I'm indispensable to you all and…whoaa!"

At that moment, the well flared up and took the hapless man down into it once more.

Magno sighed as she leaned back on her seat.

"I really don't understand this system at all."

Inside the navigation well, Bart once more found himself in a holographic view of the ship's outer environment.

"Okay… let's see what this does… uh…"

All of a sudden, the ship's systems and main drive systems came online and the vessel leaped into action as if it was a horse running around in pain as if it was touched by a red-hot branding iron, it accelerated away from the alien wreckage. The sudden movement caught everyone by surprise as the inertia equalizers were unable to correct in time. Jura and Barnette were thrown off their feet in the elevator and had their possessions scattered everywhere.

Back at the bridge, the crew was rendered unable to stop and reacquire control of the ship.

Amarone Slatheav, another crewmember on the bridge who had deep brown skin and hair gave her report. "The systems just booted up and we're going to an unknown heading!"

"What in blazes did you just do in there?!" Magno shouted to Bart.

The cadet's image appeared on the monitor as he shook his head. "Hold on! I didn't do anything here!"

--

At the alien wreck…

Gascogne nodded as she took out the data disk from the special data recovery unit, in which she downloaded all the data onboard the wreck's intact data stores. She couldn't wait to be back at the ship and in the Register.

"All right, I've finished copying the needed data. Let's leave this place and get back to the ship."

"Roger."

Dita nodded in agreement as she began to use her suit's maneuvering thrusters to propel her towards the opening. However, as soon as she got there, she gasped to see that the ship was nowhere in sight.

--

The bridge…

"Ms. Gasco! Can you hear me? Ms. Gasco!"

Ezra kept on trying to raise their comrades, but had no luck in doing so. The young woman began to sweat profusely and her breathing became shallow.

Buzam commanded the release of the buoys that would mark their location to the ones left behind. It was then that she heard a scream and turned to see the gentle bridge officer collapsed on her console.

"EZRA!"

--

Brandon and his siblings were still engrossed in conversation with the two Tarak natives, and they had to admit that unlike their blonde companion, the two young medics were quite open-minded about certain things.

"If what you say is true, then it probably coincides with the old theory of dimensional rips in the universe."

Max said as he continued his discussion with Scott.

"Yeah, though back home, we haven't been able to actually take the event into account, our world made an attempt to scan the universe also. But the only time humans on our planet ever stepped into the void of space, was with our expeditionary fleet."

Lance was asleep for a few minutes but woke up later and decided to chat with Duero, as he didn't totally understand the history of Tarak.

"So, the original eight men of the Ikazuchi founded the empire. But how were they able to survive?"

"It had not been easy. Tarak itself is a harsh and totally unforgiving place, lack of water, food, tools and supplies plagued our founders, and death was a big possibility. Until the founder we now refer to as Grand Pa, did something considered impossible, he traveled the vast desert and was able to bring back a good supply of water and allowed the others to keep on going. It had never been easy, but in due time, the capital city of Telleron was built in the same place where the men's section of the Ikazuchi crashed."

Brandon joined in with a rather burning question in mind.

"Don't take this the wrong way. But how did you guys ever manage to populate Tarak anyhow?"

Max and Duero decided to explain that they were born in birthing factories. Though this caught the Reinhart siblings by surprise, it answered that particular question easily, since they had lived far outside the city. Though it troubled them to know that the men were only able to have children using totally artificial means and machinery….That was expected since they had grown up being born between man and woman. Though they decided to keep that bit of data to themselves until the time was right, how the men and women would react to that was something they were not too keen on finding out at the moment.

But before the conversation could get any further…

A throat noise caught the men as they turned and spotted BC and her subordinates.

She then directed her attention to the two Tarak youths.

"You're names are Duero and Dylan, right? Well, it's both your turn now."

As the guards deactivated the energy bars, the second in command directed her attention to the three other men. At present, they decided not to do anything, and remained sitting down on the floor, though their expressions showed that they were going to be bored without anything to do.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes?" BC asked as she heard the question from Lance.

"How long do you plan on keeping us here anyway?"

BC thought it over, but her current concern was with the two Tarak doctors.

"You'll have to remain here for a while, until we decide what to do with you three."

Lance nodded and went to sleep once more; Brandon and Scott did the same as they decided to rest. BC looked at them, having seen their skills in piloting their mechas in battle, she felt a bit uneasy about all that she had seen. She was quite a bit cautious, but decided that they were harmless without their Zoids, or so she thought.

--

In the navigation well, Bart shouted in a panic as he spotted just where the ship decided to go to, which, of all the dumb luck was a nebula.

"We're going in there?! How do I stop this ship?!"

The fused vessel dove deep into the outer gas ring. Various chunks of ice in different sizes pummeled the hull of the ship. That was rather unfortunate for Bart, for due to his cybernetic link with the ship, it meant that whatever hit the hull, would immediately register as pain to him. A stray chunk of ice hit the top of the bow dead center, knocking Bart of his feet, as if felt as if he had been hit by a blow to the head.

"Will someone activate the shields, please?!"

--

Bart however wasn't the only one with problems. More than ninety percent of the ship's essential systems were down. Jura and Barnette found themselves trapped in the temporary elevator, buried in their possessions. They also were in a rather precarious position as they were also crowded by not just clothes and personal items, but guns and live ammunition. Meia also had her own problems, since with the power systems offline; there was no way for her to deploy any of her fellow Dread pilots to rescue Dita and Gascogne.

In the Sickbay, Duero and Dylan were busy with their dual examination of the young bridge officer Ezra as the patient lay on the bed. Duero ran a sonar scan, while Max was on the other side doing a vital signs check on the other side of the bed, with BC and her aides watching. Duero and Dylan were working well, but were a bit surprised by certain images being showed to them. But then the power was cut, leaving the medical instruments useless. In a lighting quick motion, Duero took out a communicator from the nearby aide's holster, much to her displeasure and annoyance.

"My friend and I are busy trying to work on some patients here! Make power to the sick bay a top priority!"

In the engineering section, Parfet was exasperated as she answered the call. "I'd love to do that right now, but we're rather bogged down here with our own problems! I can't do much since I can't understand the men's language!"

Duero took that to note and directed his attention to Buzam, who was nearby. "If I were there, I could help them understand it."

The first officer nodded and smiled a bit. "Go ahead."

"Dylan, keep at it until I get back, something about this is really interesting."

Max nodded in agreement. "No problem Duero. I'll take care of things on this end."

--

In the engineering section…

"It's a man!" One of the engineering staff screamed as she caught sight of Duero.

Parfet simply turned and glanced at Duero and nodded. "Oh, you're here. Good." She led the young doctor to the table where the Navi robot was hooked up to the systems. "I can't do much since I can't read any of this data."

"It's just a Hi-type #6 data feed." Duero replied as he scanned the data. "What exactly were you trying to do here?"

Parfet began to explain to the young physician that the Navi robot was somehow linked to the ship's Paeksis. She had thought that she could use the robot to act as a sensor. However, she had made no headway in finding out the reason for the ship's current condition.

Duero nodded. "According to the readouts, there's a growing built-up of impurities due to the merging of both ships."

"Maybe… So can you fix it?'

This caught Duero by surprise. "I'm sorry but I'm a doctor, not an engineer."

"That's no excuse! Everything that moves is alive! It's a doctor's job to fix all living things, right? That's what I always believe!"

The young man considered the feisty female in front of him. "You seem to have a very interesting view of things."

--

The vessel now immersed half of itself into the nebula's outer rings; the engines immediately went on system shutdown. The ship was now only moving on pure momentum alone.

"Engines have shut down, captain." Belvedere reported.

Magno sighed as she was currently cooling off with an ice bag on her head, and a portable fan.

"Great, just great. Just as soon as I get the good news that we've stopped, we end up in a nebula of all places."

It was then that the portable fan lost all its power.

"Captain! Sensors indicate that another section of the ship is undergoing another transformation."

Amarone stated as she checked her console's readouts. Outside the ship, new crystal formations appeared as the ship reshaped itself once more….Along with other sections of the ship, namely the section that the three men used to launch their Zoids from.

--

"Curious." Duero remarked as he read the data being shown on the Navi robot's screen. "It seems that the ship's systems are reacting to the composition of the gases in the nebula."

Parfet considered the information, and then smacked one fist into the palm of her other hand. "That's it! The ship must be using the nebula to neutralize the impurities!"

Duero couldn't help but agree to the theory. "It seems to be acting just like a living thing."

--

Back at the alien wreck…

"All I can see are markers." Dita said as she looked through her binoculars.

"Something must have happened."

Gascogne thought her options for a moment, then said,

"Well, at any rate we've accomplished our mission here, so let's get going."

"Roger."

Just as soon as the two women began their trek back to the Dita's Dread, the entire structure then came back life as metal tendrils snaked out like predators ready to spring and reached out for the closest living target, which happened to be the chief supply officer. Before she knew what was happening, Gascogne found herself being caged in like a fly in a Venus flytrap.

"Ms. Gasco, look out!"

--

Meanwhile…

"Jura?"

"Hmmm?"

"When do you think will they get us out of this elevator?" Barnette sobbed.

Jura then recalled that she had with her, her communicator, she whipped it out and got into contact with the command bridge.

"This is Jura! Barnette and I are stuck in the elevator! Somebody help us out here!"

--

The pirate vessel…

"Captain, I have an idea." Buzam called in as she spoke to her commanding officer through the communication systems. She was currently in the sub bridge of the former Ikazuchi.

"Go ahead BC." Magno sighed as she continued to sit in the sweltering heat of the Command Bridge.

"Since we can't launch any Dreads, we can't be able to send any of our own crew to look for both Dita and Gascogne. However…"

"However?"

"However, the launching systems in the section where the Zoids of the three men are haven't been affected at all by the power being offline. I'm asking permission to have Brandon and his siblings, with their Zoids to go and look for Dita and Gascogne. It is a risk but we have no other options at this point. Besides that, they seem willing to help us."

"Hmmm… not a bad idea, BC. All right. Explain the situation to them and see if they are willing to help us in the same way they helped us defeat the enemy."

"Thank you, Captain. I'll ask one of them to also rescue Barnette and Jura."

It was then that Magno noted where Buzam was. "By the way, BC. What are you doing on the men's side of the ship?"

"Just… fulfilling my duty as your first mate, Captain. Over."

--

The brig…

"Man! It's hot in here!" Lance said as he wiped the sweat coming down his face.

Scott and Brandon made no comment as the three of them were now in their inner clothes, consisting of thin but durable sleeveless body shirts and their spandex biker/boxer shorts, which they wore under their pants. They had taken off their uniforms and were now lying on the floor with their clothes acting as pillows. It had become rather hot so they had no choice. As they lay there they began to think about what will be their next step.

There wasn't any problem for them to escape. They had their inner skills of energy manipulation and also their innate skills in the fighting arts and their military and survival training, those had got them out of tighter spots than this. However, escape wasn't in their plans just yet. They had no idea where in this whole New World and universe they were in now. So it left them where? For the time being they decided to work alongside these women, so that when they had finished their service to the pirates they would take a transport and move on looking for their mother and also, if any, the other survivors of the Zi expedition fleet. In any case, the pirates didn't have much in ways to stop them, they may have Zarreke, Rikera, and Kail under guard, but the Zoids were ready to fight should it come to that level, though they didn't want to cause any casualties in the ranks of the female pirates.

It was then that a noise got their attention; they looked at the door and saw someone coming in. Buzam walked into the detention area and smirked as she saw them in their undergarments.

"My, don't we have any shame?"

"Look who's talking." Lance said as he and his siblings got up to don their clothes. "There IS such a thing as decency you know!"

"We know that you didn't come here for a social call, so what brings you back here?" Brandon asked as he put on his uniform.

"I've come… to ask you all a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Scott asked.

"Two of our crew were left behind at the wreck when the ship went into the nebula. I would like you three to go out and look for them."

"I take it something happened that seems to forbid you from sending out your own pilots for that? Otherwise you wouldn't come here, right?"

Brandon asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. Since the power is taken offline, we can't launch any of our Dreads. However, the launching systems for the Vanguards are still active, and those are capable of launching your Zoids, with your companions, you all can easily go out and retrieve them."

She then decided to ask one more question.

"I've been wondering whether you can't do much else without your Zoids. Or your power is only limited with the Zoid each of you pilots?"

The brothers chuckled a bit as they finished donning their uniforms. Brandon smiled as he focused his powers and formed a ball of pale blue light the size of a baseball in his right hand, Lance and Scott did the same, causing a gasp to appear from Buzam's mouth.

"We have other skills, and it's not with just our Zoids."

They then fired the spheres at the cell's lock that attack knocked out the energy bars. The three Reinharts casually stepped out and faced the pirate first officer.

Buzam was rendered speechless by the display. It was now obvious to her that these men could easily escape and retrieve their mechas any time of their choosing. And now they showed another unbelievable skill that she had never seen before. Her instinct for self-preservation came up as she lifted her laser ring at them. But then Brandon smiled a bit as he suddenly moved much faster than she could and caught her hand in the span of a heartbeat and released. Scott also went into action as he used his own skills to suddenly bind BC's wrists with some cord that he had hidden, and Lance did the same to her legs and before she could respond, they made her sit on a nearby crate.

Brandon smiled a bit as he opened his hand and to BC's shock, her laser ring was in his palm. She didn't even feel him remove it from her finger! She looked at them with a bit of fear and waited for what would happen. But to her surprise, Scott and Lance removed the ropes binding her body and legs, as their sibling went closer.

"My brothers and I have special abilities that we can use at any time of our choosing and we happen to have undergone a good deal of training to have done what we just did to you. You get the idea. We could have easily disabled you and also any of your crew who would try to stop us. We also could have easily taken back our Zoids and easily fought back."

Brandon then opened BC's hand and placed in her palm her laser ring, taking BC by surprise. He then closed her hand over the weapon moved back and joined his siblings.

"But we have never considered you as our enemies and we never will either, since we are not from the planet Tarak. You heard our story since you listened to our discussion with the other men. So instead we'll ask you this question, after all we have done, are we your enemies?"

Buzam looked at them and had to admit to herself that these men are indeed different. They were correct; she couldn't possibly consider them enemies. Enemies would never hand back the weapon that could kill them, nor would they have helped back during the battle. She shook her head a bit.

"You are very intriguing, just like the captain said… Will you…"

"Look for your comrades? No problem, just tell us who they are and we'll go out and look for them."

Brandon said as he and his brothers prepared to move out.

"The ones lost are our supply officer Gascogne Rheingau and another one of our Dread pilots, Dita Liebely. Plus we need help in rescuing two others who are trapped in an elevator shaft, they are Jura Basil Elden and her comrade Barnette Orangello."

That announcement caught Lance's attention easily.

"Dita? You mean that redhead?"

"Yes."

Lance immediately grimaced a bit. Of all the ones they had to rescue.

"Let's go guys; they're not going to wait long."

Brandon smiled a bit; he could tell that his youngest sibling was not entirely happy to be called Mr. Alien again by the redhead.

"You're in a hurry, are you interested in that young woman Dita?"

Lance gave a strong unfriendly look, but the two older brothers could tell that he was trying not to show that he was trying not to visualize the young pilot who had been lounging comfortably on his lap and sleepily snuggled to him.

"That's none of your concern, brother. Let's just go out and find them."

"Sure. You guys go ahead, I'll deal with the two trapped in the elevator." Scott answered as he smirked a bit.

Brandon and Scott followed their youngest sibling as they tried hard not to chuckle at the apparent discomfort of their little brother as they went to do their duties.

Buzam looked at the three men as they walked in the direction of the hanger; she opened her hand and stared at her laser ring.

(How was he able to… No I'd better not ask. But the captain is right about them being VERY interesting. But I don't quite understand how interesting they are.)

--

Back at the alien wreckage…

"Oh no! It's no use, Ms. Gasco!"

Gascogne wasn't concerned with reminding the young Dread pilot that her name was Gascogne at the moment. The head supplier however was more concerned with her situation. The tendrils had formed into a dense metallic cage that restrained her movements. The young Dread pilot had tried to remove the tendrils with her suit's built-in blaster, but the metal proved too strong.

"I'll get the tools from the Dread!"

Dita said as she knew that the tools were better for this situation.

Gascogne shook her head in disagreement.

"Don't bother with me right now. Have you forgotten our mission? Someone has to get back to the ship with that data disk!"

Dita became shocked and shook her head.

"I can't just leave you here like this!"

"Who said anything of you leaving me here to rot anyway? This isn't some third rate soap opera! You can come back for me with help, right? Now hurry up and get back to the ship!"

Dita nodded reluctantly as she used her suit's thrusters and turned to get to her waiting Dread interceptor.

However, as soon as she vanished from sight, the structure and the insides of the wreckage came back to life. Panels opened up, revealing more alien units that began to work. Gascogne began to feel a strong shiver run up and down her spine.

--

The nebula…

"Sensors are detecting a massive object heading at a trajectory in collision with us. It appears to be an asteroid-size chunk of ice." Amarone said as she tracked the object in question.

"Did you hear that? Do something now!" Magno ordered loudly to the man who was now in the navigation well.

However, Bart wasn't paying any attention; he couldn't since he was screaming hysterically. So he was of no help to anyone right now.

--

Back at the engineering section…

"The input/output ratio is still off."

Duero remarked as he read the readouts from the Navi-robot.

"That's because there aren't enough link routes!" Parfet declared as she tried things on her end of the court.

"But existing one's can't handle the strain anymore."

"Don't give up now! There has to be an answer!"

Duero thought it over for a moment, then decided that he'll have to approach the situation with his medical knowledge the way Parfet thought of it. The whole ship seemed to be acting like a living being, then his medical training will apply.

"How about a bypass then? When there's a blocked artery, then you simply need to make an alternate route to relieve congestion."

Parfet nodded, quickly getting a visual idea on what the young Tarak doctor had in mind.

"A detour huh? Great idea!" She patted him on the shoulder. "You know, you wouldn't make a bad engineer!"

She then directed her attention to her crew and began giving new instructions.

"Okay everyone, Listen up! It's time to get busy!"

Duero looked down on his shoulder and contemplated her touch. He also wondered how his brother was doing with their patient.

Speaking of whom…

Dylan finished checking Ezra's temperature and her breathing as he took out a stethoscope that was included with the inventory of the medical center, which was considered outdated, but serviceable. He then checked on the young bridge officer and placed the instrument on her enlarged belly, and for some reason he heard something that startled him…

(Was that a…heartbeat?!)

He reached for a communicator and in the same lightning quick fashion took the item from the holster of another aide, who showed her displeasure just the same way the other aide did when Duero did the same thing.

"Duero, are you there?"

"Yes, Dylan, how's the patient?"

"She's fine, but you had better hurry up with what you're doing. You might want to see this."

Duero nodded as he told his best friend to do what he could and wait until they both could determine what had happened to the gentle looking female.

--

Back at the alien wreckage…

Gascogne felt herself staring in awe and fascination, thoroughly mixed with fear as she watched the alien forces begin the repair and restoration of their severely damaged vessel; this confirmed her suspicions that the ship was indeed a mobile factory.

"They can still regenerate under these conditions?"

Then her attention was directed in another direction, as she was now aware that she had a visitor, something that was large and ominous. The machine resembled a massive ladybug decked in green armor, and armed with massive clawed appendages, and two green soulless eyes glaring at her. The supply officer knew that the machine wasn't here to engage in conversation.

The chief supplier laughed nervously as she said "Well… I guess I know what you want for dinner."

--

Out in space…

A certain Dread pilot was running away from some unwanted company…

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! NO!"

Dita was running for her life, like a fox being chased by a hunting party as several enemies gave chase to her the moment she escaped the wreckage in her Dread. She used every evasion tactic and maneuver she could recall from her training and anything that randomly came into mind. But her pursuers weren't interested in letting her leave that easily.

"I REALLY HATE ALIENS WHO DON'T KNOW WHEN TO GIVE UP!"

It was then that she checked her scanners and three more blips appeared… right in front of her, moving at strange speeds.

"From the front too?!"

At that instant her ship was rocked by a near miss, which caused her to accidentally fire her ship's blasters. Twin beams of power lanced outward and caused an explosion some distance away. However, when the burst of light faded away, two high powered beams lanced out in retaliation. The beams however missed Dita's Dread completely and atomized her pursuers. It was at this moment that Dita was close enough to see who were in front of her.

Lance was NOT happy. The Hybrid Cannons went to full shutdown as he kept going closer.

"HEY! IS THAT ANY WAY TO THANK A PERSON WHO CAME TO LOOK FOR YOU OR WHAT?!"

Even though Dita's Dread fighter's weapons were not that well powered to cause harm to his Liger, it still made him angry.

Kail growled a bit, as he too felt a bit angry at the greeting card thrown at them by the redhead.

Brandon, along with Zarreke, couldn't help but try not to laugh.

Dita however was overjoyed to see Lance and his brother and their Ligers.

"Mr. Alien! You came for me!"

She then rocketed her Dread towards Lance and his Liger Kail.

"Whoa! Hold it!"

Lance said as he managed to bring his Liger to a halt, but his response time was off as the Dread was already too close for anything else, once they were in close proximity there came a bright flash of light and they became ZoidDread Dita once more.

"Wow! What is all this?"

Dita cried excitedly as she looked in her new surroundings while being on Lance's lap.

However… the male in the same cockpit was becoming excited as she was, but in a totally different way.

"Hey! Will you stop moving around so much?!"

Lance said as he was becoming very aware of the young redhead's movements on his lap, her squirming movements rubbing on a certain part of his male anatomy and making it quite stimulated and sensitive.

The young Dread pilot smiled warmly as she turned to face him. I just wanted you to know that I believed in you and I knew that you would come and rescue me and so would the other Mr. Aliens."

Lance shook his head a bit while trying not to show the crimson in his face as he gazed at the redhead.

"My brothers and I didn't come out here to save you!"

He retorted loudly.

"We… just went out to look for you… that's all."

Dita didn't of course understand why Lance was blushing, but she could tell that he was lying, though partly. "Well, thank you." Dita replied as she snuggled once more on Lance's chest.

Lance tried not to react to that.

"Well now, I hate to break up your little reunion with my young brother, Dita Liebely. But where's your fellow comrade Gascogne Rheingau?"

Brandon asked as he got into contact with the ZoidDread.

"Oh, Mr. Alien 2! She's still at the wreckage!" Dita said as she spoke to the oldest Reinhart sibling.

Lance however just shook his head.

--

Back at the alien wreckage…

Gascogne had to admit one thing, the machine in front of her worked with total efficiency and precision, though the supply officer knew that she wasn't in a good situation at the moment. The machine may be efficient in cutting her bonds, but she knew for a fact that it was only interested in getting to her.

"You guys work very efficiently, I almost wish that we could hire you to work for us."

The automaton's only response to that was to extend a wicked looking appendage with claws.

By now the chief supply officer was breaking into sweats. "Now it's my turn, right?"

A voice broke through the area. "I don't think so."

The automaton was suddenly unable to reach her with it's arm, as it was caught into something huge and metallic. It was instantly reduced to scrap in what appeared to be a mouthful of metallic teeth as Gascogne looked up and saw the ZoidDread along with the other Liger.

"You guys waited for the last minute to rescue me, how disgusting. But I guess that this ending is a lot better than anything else."

"Good, just hold on while we get you out of there, Ms. Gasco." Lance said as he and Dita and Kail went to work on the metallic tendrils still holding the supply officer by using the blades.

"Thanks, but get this straight. My name is Gascogne… NOT Gasco!"

Brandon smiled a bit as he turned to face his youngest sibling. "How much room can you guys spare in that Zoid, anyway?"

--

Back at the engineering room…

"We've managed to secure at least thirty-six bypasses!" Parfet declared, "How are things on your end?" She asked Duero.

Duero closed up the Navi robot's panel. "I can't do much more; the ones we have placed in can't handle the strain anymore. We'll just have to make due with what we have currently with us."

"But the balance will be totally disrupted is there aren't any other link routes!"

"Do you know what doctors do in situations like this? We place our faith and belief on the patient's will to live."

The female engineer nodded and smiled.

Elsewhere…

Ezra breathed slowly as Max continued to check her pulse and hoped for the best.

"I feel so tired and hot." She said slowly. "Will I be all right?"

"You will be, I promise, as a doctor." Dylan answered soothingly.

--

Jura and Barnette were getting even more uncomfortable by the minute. They knew that sooner or later, this elevator would fall, and they were really going to get it. The weapons that Barnette brought along were going to make sure of that.

Scott looked down to where the two other women were at. The elevator was trapped between two floors and at least three floors down.

"Looks like it's going to be one hell of a trip down!"

He then tied himself to a long an very durable cable and had two other cables with him, which he also tied on the posts of the elevator shaft. He then rappelled his way down to where the two other girls were, but not before forcefully opening the middle door of the three floors open. Once he got there in a span of ten minutes, he knocked on the roof of the elevator.

"Hey! Anybody there? The rescue party is here!"

"ABOUT TIME YOU GOT HERE! GET US OUT!"

"Okay, okay! Don't blow a gasket!"

Once Scott was done with opening a side panel on the roof of the elevator, he entered the elevator, head first…and got into contact with one of the girls he was supposed to rescue…namely with her…ahem…bust.

"Huh?!"

Scott realized that he had his face near someone's cleavage and immediately blushed bright red and moved away…though he had to admit this much in his suddenly interested state…whoever she was, she certainly was…well-developed. That was when he recognized Jura and then he spotted Barnette, who he knew looked just as attractive as her blonde companion.

(Hey! It's that blonde woman I saw in the Ikazuchi's reactor, and who's her friend, she's really a looker too! Huh! If any of the guys back on Zi ever saw these two, they'd follow them like randy dogs in heat!)

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU? Oh, hey you're one of those pilots of that strange beast mecha, right?"

Jura asked as Scott moved away a bit. She looked at the young man and noted that he was upside down.

"Are you here to rescue us?"

"Yeah, that pretty much what I'm doing here, though next time don't shout so close to my ears, you're going to turn me deaf, if you do that again."

Scott said as he rubbed his left ear carefully.

Barnette however gave Scott a very unfriendly glare.

"A man?! What are you doing here?!"

Scott gave a look to Barnette and replied.

"In case it slipped your attention, I'm here to get you two out."

Barnette seethed a bit.

"I'm not letting a man touch me in any way!"

"If that's the case than how do you plan to get out? I don't suppose you've got some rope in that pile in there, do you?"

Barnette glared at the good-natured smirk on Scott's face as he showed them that he had some rope with him.

"Fine! So get us out of here!"

"First you might want to help your friend by giving her a boost."

Scott said as he helped Jura up first. He had to as the blonde was the closest person he could reach right now. Though he kept in mind not to stare at the blonde woman's rather…provocative dress, and what it showed to his eyes as he gazed at Jura from top to bottom.

(Damn! I seriously need a girl-friend!)

"Okay, NOW can you help me?"

Barnette asked as she glared at Scott, a feeling of jealousy flooding her as she spotted Scott giving Jura a serious looking at. Barnette and Jura had been long-time friends so it was natural that the green-haired woman would feel jealous, but this feeling was even stronger now when Scott was looking at her blonde friend.

"Okay, give me your hands and I'll lift you out. Be careful not to struggle since you might hit those guns and ammunition down there, and god knows what'll happen if you do."

Jura watched as Scott lifted her friend up without injuring himself, she was amazed that this guy could carry Barnette that easily, and from a position with him being held by a rope. Whoever this guy is, he's really strong.

"Uh, Miss, if you're done staring at me, do you mind giving your friend a hand?"

Scott asked as he looked at Jura.

"I wasn't staring!"

Jura replied with a bit of a glare as she helped her friend Barnette up. The two women watched as Scott switched from his suspended position and stood next to them and pointed at the ropes.

"Okay ladies, I guess it's time we all climbed out of here."

He then showed Jura and Barnette how to tie the cords on their waists and how to climb upwards, to the nearby door that he had opened, and he was able to help them out of the shaft. Once that was done, and girls removed the ropes they had, Jura then ran up to Scott and hugged him.

"Hey! What are you…?"

Jura then released him and winked a bit. "Just saying thank you for saving Barnette and me."

"Uh, no problem." Scott said with him scratching the back of his head.

Barnette sighed and glared at Scott, and then she grabbed her friend's hand and spoke to Jura. "I think you should take a bath Jura."

"Why? I took a shower after the fighting."

"I know, but you might have gotten germs from holding that guy!"

Scott had no trouble hearing the conversation and he knew one thing. It was going to be an uphill battle to try and convince these women that they were NOT from Tarak. And from the looks of it, it was going to be a long uphill battle.

--

The massive fragment of ice came ever closer to the fused ship as the crew tried their best to avoid a real disaster.

On the bridge, Magno looked on grimly at the image of the ever-closing in ice asteroid, as her aides continued to deliver reports.

"Distance is now at twelve hundred kilometers and still closing…" Amarone reported.

It seemed that the end was coming. Then the fan beside the captain then came online.

"Huh?"

Belvedere gave a sound of relief mixed with joy. "The systems have rebooted themselves! We have control of the ship!"

Down in the engineering section, the little robot became active once more, stood up and smartly saluted both Duero and Parfet.

"Beep! I'm back in service!"

"Yes! We did it! We make a really great team!" Parfet grasped Duero's hand; she then suddenly blushed as she gazed at her fingers intertwined with the doctor's own fingers.

Duero also felt a bit…odd.

He moved a bit as he picked up the communicator and answered the call from his comrade Dylan.

--

"HARD TO STARBOARD, THIRTY DEGREES!"

Magno Vivian barked in desperation to Bart.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! IT'S TOO LATE!"

Bart screamed cowardly as he braced himself for the end.

There was a massive explosion that bathed the front of the ship but it wasn't the ice chunk ripping into the ship's hull. When Bart opened his eyes, he saw that the asteroid had been vaporized. In it's place was the ZoidDread and the other Zoid in it's specialized armor, standing alongside it's transformed counterpart.

"Hmph! So they save the day again!"

Bart said with disdain.

But he then received a call, that caller happened to be the oldest Reinhart sibling, Brandon, who wore a look seething with anger, hostility and mirthless humor.

"Bart, you sound disappointed, that we save your butt and everyone else from being turned into useless junk. Would you prefer the next time another batch of asteroids show up, we leave them alone for them to smash into the ship?"

Bart looked as white as a ghost. The look of anger in Brandon's face and the tone in his voice was so intimidating that the cowardly Tarak cadet broke out in sweats.

"N…n…NO! Please feel free to do that any time!"

--

Inside the ZoidDread's cockpit…

(Man! I am SO tired!)

Lance sighed as he lay back on the seat.

"See! I told you it was amazing!"

Dita said excitedly as she bounced up and down Lance's lap, incidentally making him even more agitated and uneasy.

Beside them, in rather obvious discomfort was Gascogne.

"Yeah, yeah. So how about getting me out of here?"

Brandon showed up on the monitors.

"Don't worry about that Ms. Gasco; you'll be back in the ship in a few minutes, once we clear the nebula."

"Thanks. And the name is Gascogne, NOT Gasco."

--

Later that day…

Magno and her second in command made a special announcement to everyone on the ship.

"We have finished deciphering all the data that we salvaged from the alien ship's wreckage, after our 'guests' destroyed it permanently. I want all of you to take a look at this." Buzam turned on the main data feed to all the monitors onboard the ship; the images depicted a strange, machine like planet. "This is the enemy's home world. We have no idea on it's exact location, but apparently, they are in possession of some serious firepower. The unknown forces seem to have perceived our presence in their territory as an invasion, and therefore, we will have to expect more battles on our return to Megele space. "

The first officer continued with her briefing.

"We have also received information from the wreck that the enemy has planned a major operation, which calls for the total annihilation of our home world Megele and the males' home planet of Tarak. For totally unknown reasons, a hostile force is intent on destroying our two worlds. This operation has been dubbed under the name, 'Harvest'."

The pirate captain then took over.

"As we are pirates, we hold no loyalty to either Megele or Tarak; however, it would prove unhealthy to let an unknown force take away our potential 'customers'. Therefore I have decided to reach our worlds and give them a warning of the incoming crisis. In order for this mission to be successful, we must incorporate the men who we have onboard as P.O.W, to be part of this crew for the duration of this voyage."

Belverdere and Amarone were the first to be shocked to hear this announcement, while Bart smiled smugly as he lay down on the floor of the bridge, a good distance from the navigation well.

"Heh. So you all finally see things my way."

The old woman continued. "There are many things about this ship that we don't understand and that large machine."

( Not to mention our unknown 'guests' and their Zoids.)

Magno silently added before capping off the announcement.

"However, I expect we shall be learning more, one day at a time. That is all."

Just as soon as she switched off the commlink, Duero and Dylan arrived both on either side of Ezra. Duero, arrived just after the asteroid was destroyed by the ZoidDread, and went back to checking the gentle bridge officer.

"I'm so sorry about before."

Ezra apologized.

"I'll be returning to my station now."

"Did the two of you find out the cause of her fever?"

Ezra looked at Duero and Dylan with a slightly shy look.

"We've done some analysis on her vitals signs and found nothing that is harmful to her at all. However…" Dylan started.

"We've detected and determined that there seems to be some sort of parasitic organism inside her body, feeding off her, though we have no idea what it is." Duero finished.

This announcement made Magno quite alarmed, but Ezra quickly shook her head while blushing furiously.

"No! No! You're both wrong! It's not that! It seems… I'm going to have a baby."

Belvedere and Amarone became very excited about the announcement as they crowded around the mother-to-be.

"When in the world did you become a Fahma?"

"So who's the Ohma?"

Bart looked on the events with a totally confused look. "I don't understand, I thought that all babies were born in factories."

The two Tarak medics however looked on with curiosity. "Come to think of it, we've been hearing rumors that women can reproduce internally." Duero remarked as he gazed at the young bridge officer. Dylan nodded as he also took his time digesting the latest data on women.

Ezra bowed to Magno. "Forgive me, Captain. I had been meaning to tell you soon after this latest raid on the men, but…"

Magno waved it off, but with a gentle smile. "There's nothing to forgive, Ezra. I hope that you give birth to a healthy baby."

"Come on Ezra! Who's the ohma?" Another bridge officer asked.

"Excuse us, but what is an ohma exactly?" Duero asked with genuine interest, as his brother Max looked on with the same question written on his face. One of the main reasons that the two Mcfiles took up being doctors was that they were deeply interested in the mysteries of female physiologies.

Belvedere gave a surprised look. "The ohma is the one who donates the ovum and the fahma is the one who nurtures it in the womb. Don't the two of you know anything?"

"In all honesty, this is the first time we've ever heard of it."

As the little crowd continued their discussion on Ezra's pregnancy, none noticed Buzam edge her way to a console and remove a data disk.

"It seems that we've been given quite a share of surprises today, right BC?"

The first officer quickly turned to face her commanding officer, but was able to hide the disk easily. "Uh, yes Captain!"

"The whole crew, including our new guest members better work as hard as they can, especially for the new life that will be joining us all real soon." Magno said, indicating Ezra's soon to be born child.

"This will be a long journey home." Buzam added.

--

To be concluded…

Hi. Scott checking in, well, it's official, me and my siblings and the men of Tarak, are now officially part of the pirates until we make it back to Megele and Tarak, so we'll be stuck here for 270 days. No problem to me though…

Speak for yourself brother! I have to be stuck with that redhead for 270 DAYS! I think I'd rather jump into a blackhole! (Groan)

Cool off little brother… Hey, what's with that blue-haired girl, I think she wants to pick a fight… with me of all people!

Oooooh! Looks like my big brother Brandon might have a thing for that girl…

Knock it off Lance! Next time on ZoidDread. Chapter 4: Reluctant Comrades. See you on the battlefield!

Author's notes:

This is the latest chapter to date on ZoidDread, and to all the readers, in answer to your possible questions on the couples, then the answer is yes. Lance will be with Dita, and you guys can put two and two together with Brandon and Scott on just who they will be with, namely Jura and Meia.

Now to those you might be disappointed with the pairings, then I'll tell you that this was the intentional pair plan I had since I came up with ZoidDread, but I wanted to try a few new approaches to doing this pairing plan, so I didn't make this fic public before in over two years when I made it, and it was only in this year did I post this story.

Unfortunately, the plan was revealed too early, and well…I'm pretty much in the dark in what I'm going to do now with the couples I had in mind! I think I made the coupling possibilities too obvious when I wrote this fic.

And I do apologize for this mistake, so I'm making a request to the readers, if you readers are willing to stick to the current pairings, then give me your reviews plus your votes on it. But if you want some different pairings, then send me reviews and who you want paired with who. If I get more votes for the former option, then I'll work hard and make their budding relationships as interesting as possible. But if I get more votes on the later, then I'll have to remodel the whole story and that takes time, plus a LOAD of new concepts have to be thought up.

But I'll write what the readers want!

Well…That's all for today, I'll put ZoidDread on hold until I get a sufficient number of votes for the options in question, so I'll dedicate the time for GunDread SEED- The Second Stage, and Rune Soldier Rayne! I'll be waiting!


	5. Reluctant Comrades

ZoidDread

( ): Thoughts

Chapter 4

Reluctant Comrades

In the Zoid Hanger…

Brandon and his two other siblings were deep in the launch bay, checking on Zarreke, Rikera, and Kail, doing normal systems checks on their long-time companions.

"It's been only a few days, and things are getting…rather interesting around here."

Scott said as he sat in the cockpit of his Liger companion, Rikera. The Ultimate X Liger of the middle brother was currently in it's Schneider armor and was growling in contentment as it cooled down in the bliss of no combat.

"Yeah, Things are sure different from the worlds we've been to for the past five years. We've got into more fights than we can count."

Lance remarked as he worked on his Liger.

"Namely concerning a certain girl and a recording device. You recall what happened a few days ago?"

Brandon said with a smirk as he looked at his brothers while running a diagnostic on Zarreke using a customized lap-top namely at his youngest sibling.

"DON'T YOU EVER…!"

Lance said with a tone of warning, but he knew that his brothers were going to say it anyway.

--

Flashback…

Lance was finally able to use the bathroom. But to make sure that he and the rest of the guys would have some privacy…whenever they had the call of nature. The Captain cordoned off a section of the ship for them, and thankfully that section included a restroom, complete with a shower.

However…it seemed that privacy was going to be a BIT of an issue…

Lance sighed as he was dropping his pants. But then he got this weird feeling that he wasn't alone in the room. He had closed his eyes earlier and that was when he got this feeling of someone else being in here as he sat down. He then fine tuned his senses and that was when he did find somebody in the room. But when he recognized the scent…

(OH NO!)

He looked up and there in front of him was none other than…

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT'S DECENT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Lance roared as he spotted Dita Liebely on the top of the somewhat older style stall in the men's section of the ship. The fact was, that the image of the redhead looking at him while only his boxers covered his privates was embarrassing enough. But what was even more embarrassing was the question that just came out of her mouth.

"Can you show it to me Mr. Alien?"

Dita asked with a smile.

"SHOW WHAT TO YOU?!"

Lance said as he glared at the interloper.

That was when Dita took out a recording camera from her back and then placed the camera in front of Lance, making the teen Zoid pilot even more embarrassed than he already could be.

"I heard a rumor about you men and I wanted to see if it was true!"

Lance tried to look even more menacing as he glared at Dita, but his embarrassment was winning over his rage.

"And WHAT sort of rumor did you hear to make you sneak in here like some voyeur?!"

That was when Dita suddenly left the top of the stall, and to his even greater shock, opened the door and was now in front of him with a twinkle in her blue eyes. "I heard that you men have some sort of tube stuck between your legs! And I wanted to see if that rumor was true about you Mr. Alien!"

"What sort of tu…?!"

That was when Lance put two and two together and got the answer to Dita's inquiry…the problem was, he didn't LIKE the answer the least bit.

"NO! NO WAY! THERE'S NO WAY I'M GOING TO DO THAT!"

Dita gave a pleading look as she leaned even closer towards Lance. "PLEASE!"

"NO!"

In a flash, Lance zipped up his pants, grasped Dita by the collar of her jacket and hauled her out of the men's section of the restrooms. The female found herself unceremoniously dumped outside as Lance slammed the door shut and activated the electronic locks behind him.

Lance tried to relax himself as he got to calm his heart.

"But why can't I see it?" Dita asked in her usual curious and innocent voice.

"I can't show it to a woman! That's why!"

"Darn! And I wanted to know if it was true!"

Lance knew that when he would tell his siblings about this incident, they were going to laugh like crazy.

--

End of Flashback…

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Brandon and Scott were busy laughing as they were leaning back near some boxes filled with parts as they looked at their youngest sibling Lance. The youngest brother had been right in thinking that his siblings would laugh at him the moment he told them the whole story a few days ago.

"Guys, that is NOT funny!"

"I know brother, but you should be lucky that you didn't take down your boxers, otherwise THAT would have been embarrassing!"

Brandon laughed as he wiped away the tears in his eyes. Scott was also trying not to burst into tears of mirth as he recalled that incident.

"Brother…" Lance said menacingly.

The two older brothers decided to lighten up and with that, the quickly stopped laughing at their youngest sibling.

"Seriously Lance, lighten up."

Brandon said in a serious tone as he walked over to his brother, and rubbed his hair.

"We're just trying to make you laugh a little, you should be lucky that you've gotten the affections of someone like Dita, hell, any guy back home would be green with envy if they ever saw you and Dita together."

Lance gave up his anger and answered his siblings.

"No, it's not like I hate the girl or anything, it's just that she, well she's not exactly….easy to get along with. Not to mention she's not all that familiar with certain things."

Brandon and Scott raised eye-brows at this statement,that is until they got the idea. They recalled how embarrassed Lance was when he was in the situations with Dita, and realized that since Dita had been born from an all female culture for the majority of her life, the redhead would be very interested in learning all that she could about men, but didn't know how to approach their youngest sibling.

Lance had been around women during their wanderings in this new universe for five years, but in a sense, many of their wanderings had lead them into battles and situations where they had little time for any social relationships. But that didn't mean that Lance didn't appreciate the female form in the least, it was the opposite, he was very much interested at women. But Dita was different in many ways and Lance was mostly caught by surprise.

"Okay, but don't you think you should give her a chance to get to know you better not to mention get to know her better as well, I don't see anything wrong with that, do you?"

Scott asked as he and his brothers sat down to talk. They always had these moments as they had only each other as family for the past five years.

"All right, all right. I'll try and get along with her, but it isn't going to be easy."

Lance said with a sigh, but gave a small smile nevertheless. He didn't plan on making enemies this first few weeks anyway. Though he knew that he wasn't the only one with difficulties when dealing with their female comrades as he gazed at one of his brothers in particular.

--

Meia Gisborn glared at the three men, namely at the tallest of the three, Brandon Reinhart. She didn't like men a great deal, but it had nothing to do with the propaganda films of her home-planet, it had more to do with the facts that the men were proving to be very effective pilots, and naturally she was very strong-willed and didn't relish the idea of asking for help, especially from men.

All she had earned in life, she fought for with her own hands, and though it wasn't much, she was happy to have fought to live this long, but she wasn't going to lose to anybody…not yet, not until it was time.

Brandon felt that someone was staring at him, and turned to spot Meia Gisborn herself. He had no problems dealing with the enemy, but this particular woman acted as if this whole battle was a popularity contest in some ways. That didn't mean that he thought that Meia loved to prove she was better, more that she fought to help her comrades, the same way he fought beside his brothers. But he could tell that she had great pride in her, and that made things rather tricky between the two of them.

--

Flashback…

It had nearly been a week since the crew of the pirates had gained the information concerning their enemies and the plans the enemy forces had to both Tarak and Megele. Many of the pirates didn't relish the idea of incorporating men in their ranks, though they knew that it was out of necessity. Duero and Dylan's medical skills and experience were welcomed by those who suffered from Paiway's still unpolished skills. Bart was the only operator able to control the navigation of the ship, especially since the Navigation Well would only respond to his signature bio-rhythms.

As for the three Reinhart siblings, they were regulated to serve as part of the ship's defensive forces, which they did with exceptional skill, since they had been well trained in the arts of warfare with their personal machines. But unfortunately there were those who didn't relish the idea as well.

This became apparent during a new engagement between the pirates and the unknown forces.

"All Squadrons! Switch of Attack Pattern Charlie!" Meia ordered as she and the Dreads got ready to engage a few squadrons of the same octopus style fighters that they would soon label as Cube Fighters. However it appeared that the pervious battles were merely probing runs, and that became apparent as the alien fighters began attacking in a random pattern that broke the Dread squadron's ranks.

Behind the Dreads were the three Ligers, and their pilots. Brandon, Scott, and Lance were not affected by the sudden changes in combat tactics by their unknown enemy, since they were quite used to sudden changes in the battle zone. The one lesson they kept close to them from their parents, was to keep an open mind and be ready to think on the move when in battle.

The alien fighters then attacked the Zoids and their pilots, and that was a big mistake.

Brandon dodged the incoming strikes from the first batch after him and cut the to shreds with his Liger's Laser Claws. The fighters were turned to scrape as both pilot and Zoid smashed through their ranks. He turned and spotted more threats, wasting little time, Brandon activated his Liger's enhanced Ion Engines and let loose.

"SONIC WAVE!"

The Ultimate X roared into battle like a comet and slammed into more of the foes that were in front of it and turned them into junk, even those that were able to dodge the attack were caught in the massive energy waves that followed the Liger, being de-atomized by the energies.

Brandon maneuvered Zarreke carefully and targeted the enemy units before they all could face him and his Liger. He then watched his other siblings go at it.

Scott wasted little time as he dodged the incoming shots from the alien fighters and dashed by them, with his blades extended, the Liger had pulled out it's blades near the sides and the weapons were now on top of the other, allowing the middle sibling and his Zoid to chop their targets into three neat and clean sections, like a chef cooking up a dish. The remaining fighters were able to escape but they were not going to get far as Rikera and Scott chased them.

Scott pushed his engines to max output, catching some the enemy units with his Liger's Laser Claws and teeth, and his range weapons. He then turned and spotted another of those weird ships that released the units, which had now been labeled as Seed ships due to their appearance. He knew that it would release more so he closed the distance as the ship was about to release another load of fighters and then extended his Liger's head blades. Arcs of energy flowed from his Liger's weapons as he dashed right into the maw of the enemy ship.

"BUSTER SLASH!"

The Liger slammed into the maw of the target, shredding the fighters units before they could even break free from their Cube formation. The ship fared no better as it was torn from the inside by the force of the blow of the Liger's head blades. The ship blew up into nothing a wreck as the Liger retracted it's head blades.

Lance was having a fun time as he was busting down even more of the fighters that tried to out-gun him and Kail. The Liger' dodged every attack from the fighters and blasted away with it's weapons and any one of the fighters that came too close were introduced to the Liger's Laser Claws and teeth.

Like Scott, Lance had spotted another of those Seed ships trying to release more of it's units, he quickly charged in, but the ship halted the release and instead unleashed it's tendrils to try and skewer the Zoid. Kail dodged the attack and clamped it's teeth and the tendrils and with some effort reeled the Seed ship and tossed it aside, but not before giving it a fare-well gift.

"HYBRID CANNONS!"

The charged cannons unleashed a massive torrent of beam fire, reducing the enemy ship into another burning mess, and any alien fighter caught in the Seed ship's path were either crushed by the incoming ship, or were atomized by the blasts from the Ultimate X Liger's Hybrid Cannons.

The three brothers then went to check on the Dreads. With the numbers of enemies reduced, the female pilots were getting re-organized, but from the looks of things, the alien fighters still had the advantage as the Dreads were still unable to handle the change in tactics from their normal attack patterns.

Brandon and Zarreke immediately began analyzing the battle and came up with a strategy that can win this battle before it would drag on far longer than needed. The eldest brother immediately hot-wired the data to his younger siblings. He then got into contact with the Dread Leader.

"Dread Leader, this is Brandon, try to bring the enemy to these coordinates we can try and finish them off before…"

Meia glared at Brandon and replied.

"Get out of my communications! I don't need advice on how to fight!"

Brandon sighed as the girl left the comm channel. This was going to make things…rather difficult. But he was not in the mood to let something like pride and ego get the better of the situation. That didn't mean that he was not immune to having pride. But his years of wandering with his siblings taught the eldest Reinhart this much.

Pride when placed above common sense was a fool's choice. And he was no fool, and neither were his brothers.

"Scott, take out the enemy forces attacking from the top, and watch your tail, they may try to blind side you! Bunch them up if you can."

"Roger that bro!"

"Lance, get ready and attack from the bottom, we need to box them in and knock them out and give the Dreads some freedom of movement. Bunch them up also , I think it's time to throw a loop in this mess."

The alien fighters, along with the Dreads were confused as the three Ligers began attacking in a triple loop hole pattern, with each of them moving and over-lapping each other. Apparently the aliens were not expecting this strange tactic and bunched up into three large groups. That was a big error on their part…

The Ligers suddenly broke from the looping patterns. The Liger piloted by Brandon suddenly accelerated and smashed into one group and turned those that bunched into scrap. The other two groups and the first' group's survivors for found themselves being attacked by Scott, who made several passes and tore into the second group using his Liger's head blades, and the second attack not only took out more of them, but made them bunch up even more, they were now easy pickings for Lance and Kail, and the Dread pilots who didn't waste a moment to take this chance.

Meia was not in a good mood as she had just been upstaged by a man.

Brandon however was not the kind who cared too much about ego. As long as their side won the fight, he was okay with it.

--

End of Flashback…

Ever since then, Brandon knew that Meia wanted nothing more than payback for that incident. He knew that he was a good and capable pilot in his own right, but his reasons for being a Zoid pilot were different, and this was NOT the time to be seeking out rivals, namely in the people he had chosen to be allies with.

He decided not to respond to Meia's glare and he walked away, he had some things to deal with, and now was not the time to pick a fight with anybody, namely that blue-haired spit-fire. (+)

--

Meanwhile…

The chief engineer Parfet was holding a contest for a new name for the now fused vessel, since everyone onboard deemed the name of Ikazuchi to be unfitting for the now combined vessel. All of the crew would contribute their choices and in return the winner would get a year's worth of food coupons that would be redeemed at the Trapeza. (I have no idea what this place is at all.) Alongside her was the Navi-robot whom Parfet have now called by the name Pyoro, logging in all the names given by the crew. Once that was over, the list would be handed to the captain to choose the best name for the ship. One such name was 'Nirvana' which had been offered by BC. Parfet hoped that the captain wouldn't choose that name.

--

The other men on the ship were also learning something new for themselves. Bart had been ordered to train in the Navigation Well, and get used to it, apparently the women wanted Bart to really learn HOW to move the ship, and they were very adamant about the whole idea, and that meant for Bart another six hours in his birthday suit.

Duero and Dylan were also learning about women, namely on Ezra's pregnancy. The two men were very fascinated as Ezra told them about Megele birth methods. Though the gentle bridge officer was at a loss when both Duero and Dylan asked her if it was possible for them to become like her when they would have kids.

(How men will ever produce kids independently…I don't EVER want to know.)

--

Meanwhile…on the sub bridge of the still unnamed ship…

Buzam made some last minute checks on the pods that carried their messages to both their home-planet of Megele, and the men's home-planet of Tarak, when she received a communiqué from Magno from the main bridge.

"BC, is the pod ready?"

"Everything is ready, Captain!"

"BC, why are there two pods?"

"Well… the second one is for the men of Tarak. I thought that it would be wiser to warn the men of this new threat as well. We may not be men but anybody being hit by an unknown force deserves to be warned."

Magno considered Buzam's idea and then nodded in agreement a moment later. "Very well. Launch the pods."

Twin cylindrical objects were launched out of the bottom of the ship and sped to their programmed coordinates to Tarak and Megele. However, just before they could fade out of sight and range of the scanners, they were engulfed in a massive explosion. In another instant, four alien fighters showed up out of nowhere and headed for the ship.

--

"RED ALERT! ALL HANDS TO COMBAT STATIONS! ALL DREAD PILOTS TO YOUR DREADS!"

Alarms blared all over the ship as Dread pilots scrambled to head for their ships to fend off their latest attackers. Their current record for deployment stood at least forty-nine seconds. Meia and Jura were already on their way to their Dreads when they spotted Dita standing near her own Dread.

"Dita, what are you doing just standing there? Board your Dread!" Meia cried out as soon as she got to the apprentice Dread pilot.

Dita spun in a pirouette as she began speaking the reason as to why she wasn't in her Dread. "It was the good aliens! They got onboard and raced out in their partners in their powerful armor! WHOOOSSH! They were SOOO fast!"

"What? Those three are out there already?!" Jura said in disbelief. They had just received the order to deploy fifteen seconds ago.

--

Brandon and his brothers along with their Ligers still using their specialist armor units, they got ready in advance for the engagement. They decided to have a little check on just who or what they were up against.

"Lance, what's going on out there, just who's the enemy we're dealing with?"

Scott asked, he knew that Lance's Liger had a higher sensor array since it carried the enhanced Panzer armor and needed a higher tune of sensor nets to lock and use the Burning Big Bang attack. He and Brandon were also armed with the same armor units and sensors, but Lance had patented the sensors to be a lot more precise.

"I count only four signatures, and they are the same type of fighter we tangoed with last time. I've got no signature on that mothership we fought with against though."

"Only four? No backup or support ships with them? Why just that?"

"They must have been sent to watch the ship for an undisclosed period of time, which means they're nothing but just a scouting party and an expendable bunch, from the looks of their formation."

Brandon answered as he checked his sensors as the enemy came closer.

"Then I guess it's mostly one on one!" Lance said as he primed Kail for battle.

"Okay guys, this should be a cake-walk but don't forget to watch your backs." Brandon said and got Zarreke ready to rip the incoming forces to scrap.

--

A minute later, the combat alarm went off, and the three Dread pilots watched as the Ligers went back into the hanger bay and headed to the modified docks for them. They approached the Ligers as the cockpits opened and out came Brandon and his siblings.

"Not a bad run guys. Let's move out and give our report to the captain."

"Got it."

Brandon moved out and was followed by his brothers, but had to stop as he was now being blocked by a certain someone.

"JUST WHAT DID YOU THREE THINK YOU WERE DOING?!"

Scott and Lance were curious as to what was happening, but they decided to let their brother handle this.

Brandon looked at the enraged woman in front of him, and calmly replied. "We were doing what we were assigned to do and that is to protect this ship and it's crew."

"You three went out there without any authorization!"

Brandon gave a curious look.

"Authorization? Look, I and my brothers considered that the quicker the threat was dealt with, then all the better so the ship would not be in danger. We're just lending our support as part of this crew. We decided that our help can conserve your supplies of fuel, ammunition, and energy."

"Get one thing straight! We DON'T need your help at all! And you three are not part of this crew! Have you all conveniently forgotten that you're still prisoners on this ship?"

"We haven't forgotten, but we're no longer prisoners, and we were assigned to fight for this ship. We do our jobs very well, and we will keep at it. Besides…you have to consider that your last battle wasn't all that good."

Brandon said with a simple look.

Despite the apparent lack of malice in his face, Meia glared at the elder Reinhart.

"What do you mean?!"

She said angrily.

"I'm not saying that your sessions in the Briefing Room are bad, they are insightful and impressive, but they are basic patterns and with variations. Using tried and tested battle-plans is one thing, but using them too many times makes you open to unconventional tactics, namely when your opponents don't play by your rule-book and that can be a real problem in the heat of combat. There were already several weak-points in your current plans when I checked them out and ran them through some simulations.."

"And what makes YOU think you're the expert?"

Meia scoffed as Brandon.

"I doubt you can say that, since you rely on your Liger's specialized armor to win battles. I think you rely too much on your Zoid, and you have no to right to be all proud around here. That's why I say we DON'T need help, namely from en like you!"

Lance frowned and tried to move forward, but Scott stopped him and whispered in his youngest sibling's ear.

"No Lance, let it be. Brandon can handle this."

"You sure?" Lance whispered back.

"Yeah, I'm sure, besides that I think that this should be interesting to watch."

Brandon looked on and tried not to lose his cool.

"Look, correct me if I happen to be wrong lady. But I happen to recall that your Captain made it official that I and my siblings along with the Doc and his brother and the navigator were to be part of this crew until this voyage is over. That also means we have to fight together, as a team with you all. Now try to explain that to me, if you think that we have no business helping you."

"Don't you give me that! You're all nothing but showoffs! You're nothing without those mecha of yours!"

Meia was getting very angry with the men being given free reign in the ship, and her anger was hotter as she was in front of Brandon, as she recalled her being up-staged by him and his siblings.

Brandon's eyes narrowed as he began to lose his temper, however he wasn't the only one.

"Now she's pushing it."

Lance whispered to his older sibling.

"On that one I'll agree."

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

Brandon asked in a neutral tone as he loosened his stance a bit.

Meia glared back at Brandon, and held his gaze.

"And what if I am?"

Brandon smiled slightly at that. He had to admit that she's got guts and spirit in her, but he wasn't going to let that remark slide…hell no, if she wanted a fight, then he'll give her one.

"Okay then, show me what you've got."

"AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

Meia then swung her fist, intent on knocking Brandon's head off.

However, Brandon, like his siblings had taken official and unofficial martial arts training back on their own home-world, and from sparring with their Organoid allies, that made them quite capable in fighting. He reacted with inhuman speed and caught the fist from reaching his face by the width of an inch.

He smiled a bit more.

"Nice try."

He then placed Meia in a Judo toss and flipped her over his shoulder like a pancake. Meia sailed in the air and landed, posterior first on the floor with a thump, at least several feet away from Brandon.

Both Jura and Dita were shocked and surprised on just how easily Brandon had tossed their Dread Leader.

Brandon then gave a bit of a glare to Meia as she looked at him.

"Let's get one thing straight you blue-haired hellion (+). The reason I didn't punch you out cold for those remarks is that whether you agree to it or not, we're already allies and I'm in NO mood to be fighting against people who are my allies. If you want to fight me then, you had better have good reason to do it! Don't think for even a second that I'm no good outside of Zarreke or when I'm not with my siblings."

Brandon then looked at Meia as she glared back at him. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, he could guess that all the inbreeding in Megele had brought out all the attractive qualities in women, so there was little doubt that the word 'ugly' didn't exist in their vocabulary. She had a body of an athlete, and she had a grace that showed her power, along with all the curves and swells in the right places to catch a man's eyes like bees to honey, even more so in that rather tight flight suit and chest padding. Her face was smooth and creamy in skin tone with no scars at all, her eyes were this mix of vibrant blue and green, the kind a guy would love staring into. The circlet she wore namely with the part covering near to her left eye was a contrast to her skin, but it didn't mar her beauty in the least. Brandon knew this much…Meia was a babe, but she looked sexier when angry.

(Damn! First I'm blowing steam in front of this minx…and now I've got other things on my mind about her! I seriously need a break from all this!)

Brandon pushed those thoughts away from as he then stepped back as Meia got up, he wanted to make sure that she didn't hit him when she got up. The girl merely glared at him.

"If you really want to settle this matter between you and me…then why not in some war games."

Meia's attention was raised as she looked at Brandon.

"What?"

"Your Dread against my Liger in single combat. We are near a planet and a small debris belt two days from now. The Engineering teams plan to stop the ship for some repairs for several hours we can settle this mess there. I won't use my Yager armor and I'll rely on my Liger's claws, teeth, and Vulcan guns. Winner takes all?"

In her years before and after joining the pirates, Meia was proud of her skills and she wasn't going to lose to anybody, even more so with a man.

"Fine! But if I win, they you will follow my orders to the letter, including your siblings, got that?"

Brandon looked at Scott and Lance, both of whom nodded without any misgivings in their expressions. He then nodded to Meia.

"Done."

--

In the bridge…

"You want to challenge Brandon in some war games?"

Magno asked Meia as she faced the leader of the Dreads in the pirate forces. The blue-haired girl came to the elder captain a few minutes ago and surprised everybody when she made that announcement.

"Yes, Captain. I want to challenge him to test his full potential as a pilot in single combat."

Meia said to Magno as she waited for the Captain's approval.

The bridge crew were getting excited with the prospect of Meia fighting with Brandon one on one. And the gossip tree-line on the ship began to really spread.

"Who's going to win this battle?"

"Meia of course! No way could Brandon beat her in combat!"

"I'll bet ten of my coupons on Meia!"

"I'll take fifteen!"

"Quiet." Magno said with calm authority as she got the bridge crew to calm down. The elder captain then decided to weigh her options.

If she accepted and authorized Meia to go along with her plan, then it might add more fire to the tension she knew existed in her now co-gender ship. If it happened that Meia would lose, then the women in her crew would be totally offended and it would make things harder for the crew to work with the men. If Meia won the fight, then the women would never stop with their ideas of men being weaker and less talented, namely against the three Reinhart siblings, and she knew that if something went out of hand, the Ligers would immediately respond, and she didn't need a wide imagination to see what the Ligers would do if their masters were harmed.

On the other hand, if she denied this request, it would make the tension between the Dread Leader and the elder Zoid pilot more and more volatile. The two pilots were very talented and skilled, that much she could see and so did the rest of the crew. But they were stubborn and very strong willed, and despite their contrasting styles of warfare, the similarities in attitude made it always possible for their wills to collide with each other. If this matter isn't settled between the two of them, then it would lead to more problems in the long run.

She then decided to settle it one and for all.

"You have my permission, Meia. But keep in mind that I'll have to have say in this matter, don't forget that Brandon and the other men are now part of this crew."

"Yes Captain."

Meia said while trying to hide the smile on her face, she was going to love this new fight, so she could show Brandon his place!

--

On the other side of the ship…namely in the Zoid Hanger…

"You up to this brother?"

Lance asked his eldest sibling who was busy checking the power readings for his Yager armor system in his Liger. The eldest sibling never said a word after agreeing to the challenge.

"When have I ever backed out on a promise, or a challenge?"

Brandon replied plainly as he got out of his Liger's cockpit.

Lance knew that his brother had NEVER backed out from any challenge in his growing up years. That much the youngest sibling knew very well.

"You never have, but do you think the Captain's going to agree with the idea? I mean, you realize that if you win, the women are going to be really unhappy that you defeated their best pilot. And if you lose, they'll get even more into rubbing into the propaganda of their planet, which can make things really hard for us on this ship. You know that, right?"

Brandon nodded as he faced his youngest sibling.

"I'm aware of that, but there's no backing out in this scenario."

That was when Duero and Dylan arrived in the Zoid section of the ship. The medic and his companion immediately walked over to Brandon.

"I heard what happened between you and the Dread Leader." Duero said as he looked at Brandon, with a critical eye "You know that we all have to work together with the women to get back to Tarak and Megele, and I personally think that picking fights with them isn't going to help a lot."

The older Reinhart nodded. "Yeah, I know that Duero…but that girl…what's her name again?"

"Meia. Meia Gisborn."

(Meia…hmmm… not a bad sounding name. Fits her well.)

"Meia… Well, she's got spunk and good skills, but she's too prideful, and I don't get along well with people like that back home."

"You never did, remember that instructor you had beaten, Instructor Todd, wasn't it?"

Scott asked as he also walked into the room with an arm full of blue-prints and some data-pads.

"Yeah, but he deserved that one, you have any idea what stunt he tried to pull on some of the other cadets?"

Brandon glared a bit. Todd was a hard-nosed instructor who didn't hesitate to turn a normal exercise into hell on Zi for anybody he was cross with. It took some effort for Brandon to bring those offenses to light and the guy was sacked afterwards.

"Yeah, but it was because you got too close to that babe Claire. He had his eyes on her for some time before you set in. But you did pretty good, getting that guy in prison so he'd stop stalking her and making life miserable for the other cadets. Besides, the guy was smuggling supplies from the weapons depot for some time anyway."

Dylan then turned and asked a question to the other siblings.

"Is your home-planet a single gender world? Like that of our planet and that of the women?"

Lance and Scott chuckled. "Nope, we're from a co-gender world Doc."

Lance answered as he checked in with Kail for some repair check-ups.

"You mean that both men and women live together on your world?"

Duero asked, totally intrigued with the information.

"You got it right, men work alongside with women on any job in our world be it civilian, transportation, business, medicine, research and military work. You can bet that there are women alongside us men."

Brandon said with a grin.

"There are women in your armed forces?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, many of them are great officers, and Zoid pilots."

(Just like mom.)

Scott said with a sad smile.

"Do they…have children?"

Duero asked the oldest sibling.

Before Brandon could answer the question, the door opened and in came Meia with a computer pad in her hands. She had a rather smug look on her face as she spoke.

"The captain gave her permission for our war-game, she wants to talk to you, and you alone Brandon."

Brandon glared a bit at Meia while she merely smiled a smug smile and glared back at the elder brother. The tension between the two began to get even stronger, but Brandon ended the stand-off and went to the bridge.

--

Later…

"You wanted to see me Captain?" Brandon asked as he met with Magno in the Conference Room.

The older woman nodded. "I did, I take it you've accepted this challenge from Meia?"

"I have, and I'm not going to change my mind, I did propose this match in the first place as some sort of game. The sooner Meia learns to accept the help me and my siblings are giving to the ship, the better off we are."

Magno nodded as she could see how serious Brandon was about this matter. "So there's no pride or ego involved in this match?"

Brandon merely nodded in reply. "None whatsoever, I've learned a long time ago, that pride's okay to have and so is ego, but if you have both all the time, and when both are not needed, that they both become complete wastes of time."

"I see. Well then, I guess you have also my approval for the match. By the way, Parfet wanted to talk to you about that particular match, she has something in mind to make it far more interesting."

"Really?"

--

The Engineering Bay…

"I'm so busy with all the name gathering, I hope the Captain chooses a really cool one!"

Parfet said with a sigh as she worked on her many projects. She then turned as she spotted none other than Brandon Reinhart walk into the workshop.

"Hey Parfet, the Captain said you have something for the match between me and Meia two days from now?"

The head engineer nodded as she got out her nearby tool kit and beckoned the eldest brother to follow her. They then came to a massive capsule and Parfet then took out a control pad and typed in a sequence.

The capsule then opened and in front of Brandon was a rather tall humanoid robot.

"What's that?"

"It's what I called a JU-47 droid! Or just simply a Judge Unit. It's designed to be able to act as an official in duels and stuff. I built it while we were back in the hideout just for a pet project. Basically it acts like any judge over any event, I plan to use this to judge the battle between you and Meia, this okay with you?"

Brandon merely nodded. "It'll be just fine, provided nobody tampers with it."

Parfet gave Brandon a look. "Don't worry, the Judge only can be accessed by me since it can't be activated without my access codes and a double voice and retinal ID protects it's CPU."

"You thought of everything!"

"Yeah, I want nobody to cheat in this match.."

"I take it Meia's already seen the Judge?"

"Yep, and like I said, I make sure nobody tampers with it until the match between the two of you."

Just then…

"Parfet, can you help me?" A cheery voice came from behind the pair, they both turned and there was none other than Dita Liebely. The perky redhead then bounded over to the two and gave a happy smile to the Judge.

"Hello Mr. Judge!"

The robot then responded to the redhead in a metallic voice. "Hello Dita Liebely."

The redhead then smiled at Brandon. "Hello Mr. Alien 2, what are you doing here?"

Brandon laughed a bit at Dita's exuberance. In a way Dita made him wonder what would have life been life had they had a sister. No doubt they'd watch over her like hawks if they were as attractive, innocent, and friendly as Dita.

"I'm fine Dita, just checking out the official that'll be presiding over the match between me and Meia. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to ask Parfet if she could help me!"

"Help you with what?"

Parfet then sighed as whispered to the elder sibling. "She wants me to make a device for her to catch aliens. Namely your brother Lance, though she seems to be doing fine on her own."

Brandon sighed with a grin from ear to ear. "Dita, I think you don't need to build any devices to catch my brother, you know."

Dita then asked the elder sibling of her Mr. Alien. "Then what should I do?"

"Just do what you feel is right, but no devices, okay?"

"Sure Mr. Alien 2! Come on Parfet, let's go find something I can do to catch Mr. Alien's attention!"

Parfet sighed as she followed Dita, they were then followed by Brandon as he then went to where he could get some food, he was going to have to be very busy and well rested once the match began between him and Meia.

--

At exactly two days later...

The entire pirate crew of the Nirvana were ready to watch the match between their best Dread pilot, Meia Gisborn and the Zoid pilot Brandon Reinhart. This was one match none of them wanted to miss.

Magno sighed and hoped that she made the right decision for the last time. She ordered the other Dread pilots under Jura's command and the two younger siblings to form a defensive wall around the battle area, despite the fact that this match was official the last thing the elder woman wanted was uninvited company to show up.

Parfet had just placed the new Judge unit that had been programmed the simulate Magno's voice and was filled with the needed combat data and information in Gascogne's shuttle the Dreki. After Magno had done what she needed to do to make the fight fair for both pilots, she gave her final approval for the match.

--

In the Dread Launcher Catapult…

Meia did her final weapons check and nodded with a satisfied smile as the CPU of her Dread gave the green light for all systems. This was her chance and she wasn't going to waste it. The time came for her to show why she was the best in the pirates, and that she will not allow any MAN to get the best of her.

--

In the Zoid Launcher Platform…

Brandon sighed as he checked his Liger's combat systems and smiled as Zarreke gave him a green light. He looked at his current arsenals, he only had his Liger's Laser Claws, Teeth, and Vulcan Guns. Since he had promised never to use his Yaeger Armor, he was at a serious handicap, but then again, he had faced greater challenges in his years after the death of his father Alex and in the search for his mother alongside his brothers. He was ready for this battle, with all that he was.

--

As the two combatants got out of the ship and got ready to meet in their designated battle-zone their audience was already there and on the ship. Both genders were already getting ready to bet on the outcome.

In the Dreads…

"So, who are you siding with Barnette?"

Jura asked as she positioned her Dread fighter alongside that of the others, namely with her long time friend and wing-mate.

"Isn't it obvious? Meia's going to win this fight hands down! No way is a man a better pilot than a woman!"

Barnette said confidently.

"I don't think it's going to be that simple Barnette. I've seen Brandon fight with his Liger. He's got a great deal more in experience than any of those Vanguard pilots we fought with before. And he's no slouch with or without his Liger's specialized armor, and even more so if he's fighting one on one."

"What do you mean? Are siding with the men Jura?!"

Barnette asked incredulously, while giving a sharp look at Rikera, as the Liger took it's own position beside it's twin Zoid, Kail.

"No, all I'm saying that this will be one fight that Meia will have some challenge in winning."

In the Zoids…

"You think this fight will be quick?"

Lance asked his elder sibling Scott as they both watched the fight, they had their Zoid partners arm up the specialized Schneider and Panzer armor, but they too had promised never to interfere with their brother's battle.

"Maybe, Meia's got great skills, too bad she's a Dread pilot and she's got this hate-the-men streak in her. She'd be a wicked Zoid pilot back home, eh?" Scott said as he checked his Liger's sensors.

"Yeah, but Brandon's not going to lose this match, even with that handicap."

Bart then got involved as he tried to contact Brandon on comm.-link.

"Go for it Brandon, the pride of the men of Talark is at stake here!"

Duero and Dylan sighed with glares at their blonde comrade.

"Bart, need we remind you that Brandon and his siblings are NOT from our planet?"

"So what, he's going to put those women in their places! Right?"

"No, I don't think that is Brandon's reason for issuing that challenge to Meia."

Dylan said solemnly.

"He's got a better reason for this match than for the sake of pride and ego."

And what's that reason?" Bart asked curiously.

"The only way we're going to know, is when he wins this battle. So let's stop discussing this matter and just watch."

Duero replied as he looked at the screen.

--

The Dreki had arrived before the two combatants, and had already deployed the module containing the Judge unit that Parfet had built for this match. Gascogne sighed as she guided the supply shuttle back to the waiting pirate ship, she then got into contact with both Brandon and Meia as both Dread and Zoid moved past her shuttle.

"Okay, you're judge is ready and waiting, you kids play fair all right?"

Brandon merely smiled and nodded. "No worries here on my side, Miss. Gascogne. I'm not going to cheat."

Meia merely nodded. "No worries here Gasco. I'm ready for anything."

"Meia, how many time do I have to tell you and everybody else that I don't like to be called Gasco?!" Gascogne said in a scolding manner as she guided the Dreki back to the ship.

--

Later… before the match…

"The ship's new name? You want me to decide this?" Magno asked as she got into contact with Parfet through the Comm-link via Pyoro.

Parfet nodded as Pyoro showed the names suggested by the crew to her captain through his monitor." All of the crew contributed and we want you to pick one."

"You sure that you don't mind?"

"Just pick a really cool one!"

As she scanned the names, Magno spotted one that caught her eye as she considered it. "Hmmm...The Nirvana. Not a bad suggestion. Who came up with that one?"

"It was the commander's idea." Pyoro answered for the old pirate leader.

"Fine then. From now on, this ship will be under the name of Nirvana."

In the engineering room, Parfet lowered her head in defeat. "I knew it." She sighed once more and decided to contact the two combatants for their last instructions.

Brandon and Meia listened in as Parfet gave her instructions.

"Okay, the crew and I in Engineering installed some sensors in you machines, these will be used to determine the amount of 'damage' your weapons will inflict on the other fighter. The reason for the sensors is that under the request of the Captain and the Commander, both your machine's individual weapons have been reduced in damage ability so you won't seriously harm each other, so the sensors will simulate serious to critical damage to your systems, and that will mean that parts of your machines will reduce in function, or will cease. That's pretty much everything you need to know, the Judge will deal with the rest of the match."

--

Both participants watched as the Judge unit came online and spoke to them. The robot faced the outer areas of the zone, and from the robot's capsule came numerous orbs that turned out to be sensor units. Once the sensors formed a spherical grid all over the sector of space, the Judge spoke to both Brandon and Meia using Magno's voice.

"The area is now a designated battle-zone, and is at a maximum of 10,000 kilometers. The rules are simple: Any attempt by either fighter to leave the area will result to a default victory for the other fighter. Non-lethal moves are allowed. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to interfere, and lastly, there is no time limit."

The Judge then faced each participant and raised both it's arms as it began to count-down. "Battle-Record, Code – 0 – 79 – 67 – 57 – 0 is now in effect, all participants are set."

"READY…." The robot then sent down both it's arms. "FIGHT!"

Both Dread and Zoid charged right at each other.

--

Meia had already logged in her plans. She had done some research on the Liger that Brandon specialized in. The Liger was a fearless adversary in close-quarters combat, but was vulnerable in ranged battles. It wasn't armed with the Yaeger armor that Brandon specialized in so this would be an easy fight as long as she had the upper hand. Meia smiled a bit as she closed the distance.

Unknown to her, Brandon had done a great deal of research on her Dread as well. While ideal for range combat and assault, along with great acceleration and armor. The Dread had one weakness that totally rendered it in a disadvantage with his Liger. All Zoids, regardless of design specs had some close combat ability which meant that while his Zoid had a disadvantage in firepower and range, he was deadlier than the Dread when up-close in battle, plus his Liger had a deadlier edge in terms of maneuverability when in close quarters. Though he can't use his Yaeger armor, and that was a handicap, Brandon had more than just weapons going for him.

As both machines closed the distance, Meia was the first to take the initiative. Locking on her Dread's cannons and waiting for the crosshairs to lock on, she closed the distance. Once she got a lock, she unleashed several beams at Brandon's Liger. She snorted on how easy this was as the Liger didn't even change course. That was Brandon's first and last…

Mistake?!

Meia's eyes widened as the Liger suddenly leaped away from the beams, dodging them without even being clipped. (+)

"What the?!"

Before Meia could recover from the shock, her Dread was peppered by hundreds of high explosive/armor piercing rounds. The guns had been reduced in damage effects, but the impact still jarred the blue-haired pilot. The sensors on her Dread gave reports of 'real-life' damage as several systems of the Dread were shut-down or decreased in function.

The Liger closed the distance to the Dread and slashed it's Laser Claws on the side and before the pilot could even recover, the Liger grabbed the right wing of the Dread in it's teeth and with a mighty pull, tossed the Dread aside like a rag doll.

"You were really expecting me to be THAT dumb in just charging?"

Brandon asked as he peppered the Dread with some more rounds.

--

Scott was laughing his head off as he watched the fight progress.

"Now that was COOL! Brandon waited for the last possible second and made Meia fire first. He used the gravity actuator units on the Liger to make that move, this WILL be an interesting match!"

Lance merely sat back and observed the match.

"WOW! That was SO COOL!"

Dita cheered as she watched the match continue. She was in awe at how Brandon had done that move.

"That was a fluke! No way could a man do that move! He cheated!"

Barnette fumed as she gazed at the two fighters in the match continue their bout.

"I don't think so, that move was well done and no fluke. Besides, what do you mean he cheated? As far as I can recall, we never let anybody fight back when we do our raids."

Jura asked, a little curious as to why Barnette was like that all of a sudden.

"Well…um…ah…" Barnette stammered as she tried to show Brandon's actions to that of a cheater.

--

"That wasn't fair!"

Meia said as she got her Dread out of the spin and began to fight back. She fired several salvos of beams at the charging Liger.

Brandon dodged the incoming attacks and merely answered.

"I don't recall any rules being given in this match, and since I don't think our enemies will play by anybody's rule-book but their own, I'm very much free to use any tactic I can manage to win this fight. So quit wasting time and get serious."

With that the Liger moved around the Dread, dodging more beam attacks and slammed on top of the Dread, and leaping back while raking the roof of the Dread with it's claws.

Meia however wasn't going to back down. Quickly jetting her Dread to full acceleration, she gained a considerable distance from the charging Liger. She quickly routed power to her Dread maneuvering systems, quickly turning the Dread and launched a barrage of weapons-fire.

The beams slammed into the side of the Liger, making the Zoid lurch and roar in pain. Despite the reduction of weapons damage from Meia's weapons, the sensor plates made the Liger's Zoid Core react as if it had been seriously attacked.

Meia wasted no time and quickly accelerated and strafed the Liger with some more blasts, while quickly turning to avoid a charge attack from the Zoid. Meia realized that if she tried to move aside the Dread at a close distance, then Brandon would have a clean shot at her when she passed him and his Zoid.

Brandon had to admit that Meia caught him and Zarreke by surprise. He forgot that despite the Dread's weakness at close-range combat, it's acceleration capabilities gave it an advantage in escape. Looks like he would have to work extra hard to tag Meia out of this match.

(Now things are getting interesting.)

--

"That's it! Show that man something!"

Barnette said as she applauded the attack. That ought to tell Brandon not to take Meia lightly!

"Meia did pretty good there, she accelerated before Brandon could get close enough to attack."

Jura commented as she watched the fight progress.

"Nice move…that was a great trick Meia pulled on BIG brother."

Lance commented as he and his other sibling watched the fight progress.

"Yeah, but I doubt it's going to work twice."

Scott answered as he watched the match progress.

--

And true to Scott's expectations, that trick DIDN'T work twice. Meia tried to accelerate when she was about to turn and fire, but Brandon fires several salvos of bullets at the Dread, the impact of the weapons caused the Dread to shake, and lose some of it's acceleration, resulting in the elder Reinhart to close the distance and slash the Dread with the Laser Claws.

But before Brandon could get a grip on the Dread with Zarreke's teeth, Meia quickly rolled her Dread in a full 360 degree spin, making the Liger miss it's target, and move away from the Liger. She quickly retaliated and with some effort fired some more rounds at the Zoid, hitting the Liger in the lower gut once she punched her Dread's thrust power to full and turned quickly.

Meia smiled a bit as she saw her weapons hit the Liger, but the damage to her Dread had increased. Her maneuverability was decreased, and her Dread's response systems had taken another beating. The smile faded as Meia once more concentrated on winning the match. Though she had to admit on thing, this was one heck of a work-out.

Brandon grinned at Meia's trick, he hadn't expected the duck and roll move from a Dread, and especially considering the distance. This was getting to an interesting match, he never had to fight this hard before, and it felt…great.

Both Liger and Dread then turned to face each other as both pilots took some time to relax and face each other.

--

In the newly named Nirvana Bridge…

"Well, this is turning out to be quite the battle."

Magno commented as she watched the fight progress between Meia and Brandon.

"I never expected to see Meia this challenged before."

BC nodded.

"Yes, Brandon is an exceptional pilot, and it is no surprise he can hold his own with Meia. I guess had he been a Vanguard pilot of Talark with his current level of skill and experience, he'd be considered elite."

"The two may have some issues with each other…but if they work as a pair, they'd be lethal."

Magno said with a smile as the two machines then launched towards each other.

--

Both Liger and Dread then engaged each other in a display of speed and skill. Meia would evade and dodge every close attack Brandon and Zarreke would throw at her and strike back. But Brandon too would respond and evade Meia's attacks as well, and strike back with moves and maneuvers that put any Vanguard to shame.

The two pilots now found themselves fighting in a match with a very tenacious and talented opponent. And they each knew that they would have to fight with every trick they knew and learned over the years.

(Got to admit, this is turning out to one heck of a match. Meia's got great skills and experience. Not to mention she's got some serious moves! But one thing's for sure…I'm NOT going to go down without a fight!)

(Damn! No matter what move I use, that…MAN can do better! He's far better than any person I know with that Liger of his. But there's one thing I'm sure about in this battle. There's NO way in this universe I'll give up!)

Both pilots checked the condition of their respective mecha.

Meia checked her Dread and saw that maneuverability was down at least fifty percent, hull integrity was down by seventy percent, and weapons were also damaged, along with a strong decrease in her Dread's sensors. Though these were simulated, she had never suffered this kind of damage in her whole years as a Dread pilot. Brandon certainly gave her a run for her money and then some…

Brandon checked his Liger and saw that Zarreke's armor was down by forty percent, but maneuverability was down by seventy percent. His Liger's response time was decreased, along with hydraulics and motor integrity. Though these too were simulated, he had to admit, this was the first time he had to fight this hard before. Meia was no fool, and she was tough…

Both pilots decided to discard the reports and go at each other one more time. And this time both of them thought the same thing.

(I'm going to WIN!)

--

"Man, this fight's turned serious. I never saw big brother this determined before."

Lance commented as the Liger and Dread once more closed the distance.

Scott nodded.

"Yep, Meia and Brandon have got some serious talents, and I guess they both know it. This time however, these next few minutes will determine just who's going to win."

"WOW! I wonder who's going to win between Meia and Mr. Alien 2?"

Dita chirped as the two machines and their pilots once more closed the distance.

Barnette had been silent and didn't answer her red-haired comrade for a few minutes. She had to admit…though very reluctantly, that Brandon Reinhart was a devastating opponent and NOT to be taken lightly. She also watched as Meia closed the gap between her Dread and the silver armored Liger, hoping that Meia came out on top.

"I'll say this much, whoever hits with the next attack, is undoubtedly the winner. That person deserves it."

Jura said with awe as the two pilots closed the gap. She was right that these men were never to be underestimated, and now, the real moment of victory was about to begin.

--

Meia took the chance and fired several salvos at Brandon to throw the Liger pilot off-balance. She hoped that when the Liger dodged the attack she could side swipe past him and then hit the Zoid from above or from the side, ending the fight.

Brandon seemed to relax as if he knew that this fight was truly the last and made no move to dodged the attack or so everybody thought.

The Liger didn't make a move as the beams closed in, making Meia believe that Brandon had decided to do the same move as before, and this time she wasn't going to wait. She then punched her Dread's acceleration and began to climb upwards. That was when she got a serious surprise.

The Liger DID make the same move, but NOT in the same fashion! The Zoid leaped over the beams, but instead of moving to slash the Dread at the side as before. The Zoid actually ignited it's boosters, making the Zoid roll…just at the same instant that Meia pulled her Dread to climb…

Exposing her fighter's underside!

Meia realized her mistake, but not in time as the Liger extended itself in mid spin back to lunging form. Brandon gunned every energy unit he could spare into this burst and slammed his Liger on the Dread front paws first!

The impact jostled Meia in the cockpit, and that rendered her unable to block the attacks that followed. Brandon dug his Liger's claws into the Dread's armor and began slashing at the underside of the Dread quickly but precisely near the engines. The Zoid then lunged it's teeth on the middle of the Dread and with a quick spin tossed the Dread aside.

As the two machines were still in their motions, the Liger corrected itself in time and then fired more Vulcan bullets at the now exposed underside of the Dread…causing more damage to the now stricken fighter. Brandon once more punched his boosters to full and then once more slashed out with his Liger's Laser Claws, this time slashing the left engine of the Dread.

Meia tried desperately to recover and was able to escape the attack in time, but her Dread's acceleration had been severely decreased by the latest attack. She was now able to right her Dread, but her fighter's ability to accelerate was nearly gone and most of the systems were about to lock-down. As she looked at her view-screen she was shocked to find the Zoid closing in, and the Liger's teeth nearly closing in, considering the area of difference, had this been a real fight, her opponent was in the right position to rip her Dread apart, cockpit first!

She wasn't going to give up…she powered her Dread's cannons and began to aim. Sure the distance meant that she might not fire in time, but she wasn't going down without a fight!

Unfortunately, or rather…fortunately, they were going to have to work together. WHETHER they liked it or not.

--

The bridge…

"Captain! We have incoming signals…they seem to be the enemy!" Belvedere called out as she tracked a considerable bunch of signals heading their way.

"How many?" BC asked as she went back to commanding the pirate defense forces, though she wondered what would have happened if they were not disturbed.

"We count at least ten squadrons of those Cube Fighter types, at least one Seed Ship….and two unknown signatures we have not yet identified." Ezra reported as she and the others in the bridge tracked their unwelcome guests.

Magno nodded as she got into the communications system with the Dreads and the Zoids outside and also contacted Parfet. Play-time sadly was over.

--

Meia and Brandon were suddenly stunned as Magno's voice came over their comm.-links.

"Sorry you two, but you'll have to postpone your match, we've got some company to deal with!"

Both the Dread pilot and Zoid pilot turned as they spotted the incoming forces of their enemies. Though they didn't show it, they were seriously ticked off at having their match disrupted. Brandon however dropped the feeling and went back to fighting.

--

As the enemy closed in, the crew of the Nirvana were able to spot their real opponents, and then spotted their enemy's latest weapons. The two ships looked like a mass of spheres all forming a massively bumped up looking fighter. As the Dreads attacked, the reason for the pair's odd appearance became obvious as tendrils appeared and became razor-sharp spines then surrounded the ships…making them look like…

--

"Sea urchin? How disgusting!"

Jura commented as she directed her Dread into a strafing pattern attack against one of the new alien ships. She was immediately followed by her best friend Barnette who also launched her own barrage of missiles against the target. However, the spines immediately became jagged and started rotating even faster. The missiles fired by Barnette were immediately brushed aside by the spines leaving the main body unharmed, as the missiles exploded harmlessly into space.

"No good! We can't get close enough to it for a direct shot!"

Barnette called out as she moved her Dread away from the fray for move maneuvering room along with Jura. The other Dread pilots found that out as their own missiles were deflected by the other ship.

Then the spines from both ships became straight and were suddenly launched outward like over-sized high velocity darts. A few of the Dreads were caught unaware by the sudden attack, getting hit and placed out of action. The still operational Dreads immediately attacked in hopes of taking the ships out. However, the machines rapidly extended more spines and began spinning them again, causing the next barrage of missiles to totally miss and explode without any effect.

The Cube Fighters came into play as they attacked the Dreads. The pirates found themselves in a rather tricky situation and they needed tow other pilots to win this fight quickly!

--

In Zarreke…

Brandon shook his head in disgust as the fight continued.

"The situation doesn't look good."

The Ultimate X Liger also growled in agreement as well as they watched the battle unfold. With the Cube Fighters running interference and defense, and the Dreads being unable to attack the new alien attack ship due to it's defenses, it seemed that the pirates were now fighting a one-sided battle with them at the losing side. Brandon checked and noted that several of the Dreads were knocked out of the action. It wouldn't be long when the enemy would make their assault on the ship itself.

"Those Dreads aren't going to last much longer. Not to mention the fact that the current battle tactics they're using are now useless. We've got to move in now!"

Lance said as he sighed and shook his head at the scene.

"Yeah, those ships have some serious weapons to go with the looks. The first mode is for defense against missiles, the second for range and the last is for melee…Look."

Scott said as the two urchin-like ships launched their attacks on the Nirvana. The Dreads were being hit hard by the Cube Fighters, allowing the urchin ships to attack the Nirvana.

"Okay, you guys deal with the enemy, I'll join you once I've talked to Parfet."

"What for?"

"You'll see."

--

The bridge…

"It appears that the enemy has adapted to our current battle tactics."

BC remarked with a dark frown. She too had been watching the battle unfold through the tactical display as the Dread teams were reduced to half their original number. Several of the Cube Fighters have now broken in through the ranks of the Dreads and were now attacking the ship itself alongside their new comrades.

Magno nodded. "Yes. It's as we thought would happen sooner or later. I thought that those battles we were in before were too easy. So they were actually probing our strengths and weaknesses. They now know how we will react and they've learned how to counter us."

She then got into contact with the engineering section.

"Parfet, have you found any weapons on the ship we can use yet?"

The engineer shook her head as she responded to the captain's inquiry.

"Captain, we've gotten no luck, it's almost as if the ship's been stripped of most offensive weapons at all! At this rate, I'll settle for even a potato gun!"

It was then that the ship shuddered violently. The large alien urchin vessels, much to the predictions of the three Reinhart siblings were now using their spines' third ability as both had broken through the defensive lines and now used the spines which were still jagged to attack the pirate vessel. That one pass made by the ship alone had caused massive structural damage to both the port arm and the hull as it raked through the ship.

In the navigational well, Bart was screaming in pain as a large gash appeared on his left arm, as the cybernetic-neural link to him and to the ship was still active. He too wanted something…ANYTHING to fight back with! But ever since the fighting had started he had been trying to move the Nirvana away, but the blasted urchin ships were in no mood to let them move out of the battle-zone.

Brandon came into contact with the bridge.

"I'd appreciate it if Parfet can deactivate the sensor pads on Zarreke so I can fight better. My brothers are already in the front, so I'll need to get there too. Do the same for Meia as well, she'll need it."

--

"Listen Meia, I'm going to release a tow cable to get you back to safer territory until Parfet can deactivate the…"

"Shut up! I don't help from you!"

Meia gripped, no way was she going to lose and ask Brandon for help. It was bad enough she was nearly beaten, it would be even more humiliating to be relying on a man for help.

Brandon gritted his teeth and spoke in a very controlled tone of voice.

"Listen, either you let me help you, or the next attacks are NOT coming from my reduced weapons."

He then began receiving the codes to deactivate the sensors. He then tore apart several Cube Fighters with the Laser Claws. Despite the reduction in damage power, the Liger's melee weapons were still devastating. Odds like these were okay for Brandon and Zarreke, but with a wounded comrade in tow, things were not looking good. The sensors also were designed to inhibit him from using the Yaeger Armor, as soon as they were offline, he'd really go at it.

Meia was in anger as she realized that her safety and well-being now depended on…HIM. It was difficult enough for her that Brandon was very much her equal and nearly defeated her at the last few moments of their war-game, it was even more so that she now had to rely on him to protect her in this state! She decided to hurry and wait for Parfet to download the deactivation codes for the sensors of her Dread.

--

"We have to hurry, transmit the deactivation codes for the sensors on both Zarreke and Meia's Dread!" Parfet said as she and her crew tried to repair and contain the damage to the Nirvana.

"I'm on it, the codes are being transmitted now!"

One of the engineering staff said as she began to download the codes to both the Ultimate X Zoid and the Paeksis enhanced Dread. It was when the tech realized that something was wrong…

"Oh no! Meia's receiver's been damaged in the fight, she's only got ten percent of the codes!"

--

Brandon watched as the codes were being downloaded, but he was no mood to wait as the fighting intensified. He then got to speak to Zarreke.

"Zarreke, perform a full override on the sensors, the sooner they're offline, the better off we'll be! Keep the codes so we can transmit them to Meia once we've connected a data-exchange cable to her!"

The Liger's Organoid core nodded as it began to glow in a fierce blue light. The Liger then began to glow briefly, and then moved and reacted as if it was never even damaged during the whole match with Meia's Dread. The Liger then swatted away several enemy units as it then activated it's Yaeger armor. The white armor disappeared and was now replaced by the blue sections of armor Brandon specialized in.

--

Parfet was amazed as the Liger was now free from the effects of the sensors. She then recalled the Zoid's Organoid system, and surmised that the Organoid system had overridden the sensors and used the codes. She quickly turned and spoke to the other tech who was still trying to download the codes to Meia's Dread.

"Any luck with Meia's codes?"

"Nothing, we can send some of the codes, but the damage to the receiver in her Dread's making it very hard to do just that! She only has fifty percent of the full codes in her data-drive!"

--

"Come on…please work."

Meia gritted her teeth and pleaded as she waited for the codes to be downloaded to her Dread's CPU. It however was no cake-walk as the downloading was slow, and she still had to rely on Brandon's protection as the Liger stayed close to her Dread to protect it while it was still under the influence of the sensors.

--

Brandon's siblings and their Zoids were still busy fighting with the Cube Fighters. Several Cube Fighters were torn apart by the Schneider Blades of Scott's Ultimate X Liger as he rushed through their formations. He then locked all his Liger's head blades and struck another squadron of Cube Fighters.

"BUSTER SLASH!"

More Cube Fighters were quickly torn up by the impact of Rikera's charge into their formation, and those that tried to escape were either caught in the Liger's teeth or were shredded by the extended side blades of the Liger's Schneider armor.

Lance was busy raining down a barrage of weapons fire at the Cube Fighters, making it look as if he was in a giant sized shooting gallery. Wrecks of the alien fighters were all in front of the Liger, and aside it, as some tried to attack at point blank, but were greeted by Kail's Laser Claws and teeth.

"HYBRID CANNONS!"

Two beams of high intensity energy lanced outwards, ionizing the Cube Fighters that were in the firing path. They were destroyed instantly, along with those nearby as the cannons' firepower ionized the area around the firing path, making sure any target that was NOT locked on was still in cinders.

Despite this, the enemy still pressed the attack. With the enemy's new mother ship units attacking the Nirvana, and causing more damage, the pirates and their male allies had to pump out more energy to attack and defend at the same time. But thanks to the arrival of both Ultimate X Zoids the attacks of the urchins were halted on the Nirvana, but instead, they focused on the Reinhart siblings and their Zoids.

The sea urchins then unleashed a massive barrage of spines at the approaching Zoids, but the spines missed as the Ligers leaped aside and kept on charging. It seemed that the enemy machines was now destined to become junk as soon as Rikera activated it's nine blades, while Kail armed up it's Hybrid Cannons.

"NINTH BLADE ASSAULT!"

"HYBRID CANNONS!"

However at the last moment, the machines managed to barely dodge the attack by moving to the right, causing both Ligers to miss their intended attacks and the machines were able to harmlessly pass by.

--

Brandon was getting more and more angry as he watched the battle, he then calmed himself as he then got into contact with Meia.

"Meia, standby, I'll release a data exchange cable to connect wit your Dread, I'll download the codes for your Dread's CPU."

"I said…I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"

Meia shouted once more as she tried desperately to download the codes herself. But it was then that her rational side began to tell her that now wasn't the time to be choosy. Her fellow women were in danger and time was against them all. So…she swallowed her pride can called Brandon again.

"Fine…I'll get ready to receive the rest of the codes. Just hurry up!"

Brandon sighed in exasperation.

"Geez, it's only NOW she wants me to help her…women sometimes are so difficult to understand."

"What was that?!"

"Never mind! I'm releasing the cable now."

The Liger released from it's side a cable which connected to the Dread, as it began to tow away the Megele interceptor to take it to safer areas while the codes were being downloaded to it's CPU. Brandon and Zarreke were busy protecting the Dread until the transaction was complete.

Meia was happy a few seconds later as the CPU was back to normal and then gave the signal to Brandon that it was finished, so the pilot retracted the cable. Now both Dread and Liger got into the act, but not before Brandon typed in a command sequence for Parfet to install in the Judge.

--

The fighting began to intensify, namely with the arrival of both Brandon and Meia into the side of the pirates. The two former opponents were now mixing it up as they clashed with the enemy, relieving some of the pressure off the Dreads, and Brandon's siblings. The two urchin like ships were then driven back, right into where Brandon and Meia had battled. When the enemy had crashed the party, the Judge had been deactivated by Parfet and the robot was hidden in the capsule which resisted almost all attempts by the Cube Fighters to destroy it.

Dita and Lance then decided to at least take out the Seed ship from deploying more of the Cube Fighters, this was the first time Lance had asked the redhead to combine with him. And the redhead was more than eager to do just that.

Both Dread and Liger formed into the devastating ZoidDread Dita. The enhanced Dread/Zoid then aimed at the remaining Cube Fighters with the cockpit of the new mecha now with the multiple targeting computers and the Cube Fighters were now lit with targeting markers.

Lance nodded as he checked the targeting coordinates once more. He then spoke to Kail with Dita in tow.

"Kail, time to give a whole new meaning to the term 'Fireworks Party'!"

The Liger roared in consent as the redhead looked on in awe at the cockpit which was now filled with images of the enemy with target sights on them. "Wow! Now take this you bad aliens!"

Both shouted at the same time as Kail roared out.

"NOVA STORM!"

The Liger unleashed another powerful barrage of missiles and with a few extra additions, as the beam cannons on the Liger's back suddenly opened and launched another blinding barrage of beam fire. The combined missiles and beam fire reduced all the Cube Fighters into nothing but scrap and flaming wreckage.

The enhanced Ultimate X Liger then faced the Seed Ship which tried to fire it's tendrils, but those were easily dodged by both Dita and Lance. The Liger then slashed the tendrils and aimed it's beam cannons at the Seed Ship. The Liger then opened up it's cannons, and to the amazement of the watchers, the beam blades then went to the back and merged with the beam cannons, making the outermost appear bigger and stronger.

"ENERGY LANCE!!"

The beams from the super-charged cannons blasted through the Seed Ship and atomized it. This time, unlike the wreckage that was able to recover before being torn apart by Brandon and Lance. This Seed Ship was not as lucky as it was now turned into a mess of debris and flaming rubble.

"All right!" both Lance and Dita called out as they eliminated the Seed Ship. But this time, the enemy wasn't going to let this attack slide as both urchin ships began to converge at high speed towards the ZoidDread, no doubt to rend and tear the ZoidDread to pieces.

"LANCE!"

"DITA!"

Both Brandon and Meia shouted out as they rushed to save their comrades. Meia wanted to save Dita, while Brandon was rushing to save his youngest sibling. They were able to arrive in time and both managed to knock the ZoidDread away, but not without being hit by the urchin ships. The urchin ships broke from their attack but fired their spines at the new Liger and Dread. The impact caused some damage to both machines and sent them tumbling about.

"BROTHER!" Both younger siblings shouted as they saw Brandon and Zarreke hit.

"MEIA!" The Dread pilots shouted, along with Dita, Jura, and Barnette. The bridge crew were also in shock and fear at seeing Meia hit by the enemy. Magno and BC watched as both Dread and Liger were hit. However they were still intact, though damaged as they were now heading towards each other.

"There's no way…" Meia shouted out.

"… I am going to let that machine beat me!!" Brandon declared in a fierce voice.

It was then that the same process that caused Lance's Liger Kail to merge with Dita's Dread went into effect as well, as both Brandon and Meia turned into a new force of power. Meia's Dread swallowed up Zarreke and began to shift it's own form, the entire craft began to break into several sections and grafted themselves over the Yaeger armor. The cockpit expanded and covered the face of the Liger like a battle mask made of pure silver armor. The body was also decked in silver, with the Dread's wings merging with the sides of the Liger, they then retracted, giving the Liger short wings. The engines of the Dread now fused with that of the Charged Ion engines of the Yaeger armor, making them larger but no less streamlined for maximum speed and power. The Yaeger armor, after merging with Meia's Dread, was still in blue, but now had streaks of silver on it, and the silver edges glowed with a pure white light while the armor was still as smooth with some aerodynamic edges. The hard points of the Dread also fused with the legs, expanding and strengthening the Liger's Laser Claws to full power.

A new ZoidDread was born!

--

"Wow!" Dita chirped in awe as the new ZoidDread gave a loud roar after the fusion.

"Damn! Now that is ONE mean looking Zoid!" Lance replied as he gazed at the mecha.

"Did you see that?" Barnette called out as she flew alongside her partner Jura.

"It's SO cool!" Jura declared as she stared starry-eyed at Meia's fighter that now resembled an armored battle cat with wings. (+)

"I've got a feeling that things aren't going to be all that smooth in there though." Scott said to himself as he watched the new ZoidDread fusion.

On the pirate vessel, the bridge crew along with Magno and BC were also in awe, along with everyone else onboard.

"Those guys got a ton of tricks up their sleeves." Bart said as he gazed at the new mecha.

--

Inside the cockpit of the new fighter…

True to Scott's predictions, though the new ZoidDread was streamlined and powerful, things were NOT as streamlined in the cockpit.

Brandon and Meia were already recovering from the fusion of her Dread with his Ultimate X Liger, when Brandon's chest collided with Meia's backside. They both froze and turned around when they saw one another, they were in shock, and the results were… rather… noisy.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Meia cried out in anger and embarrassment as she found herself in a rather undignified position. The cockpit of their own ZoidDread had her sitting in a somewhat leaning position with her on top of Brandon's lap, while his hands were on hers on control pads similar to those of Dita and Lance's ZoidDread cockpit.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SHOUTING AT ME THIS TIME…?!"

Brandon shouted back as he found himself in his pilot uniform and in a rather embarrassing situation, though he tried not to show his body's reaction to the close proximity of the rather attractive and curvy Dread pilot.

"I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP, SO I'M GETTING THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Meia shouted as she tried to move out of the cockpit, as her body seemed to tingle slightly from his proximity, though she was too angry and confused too notice..

Brandon winced as Meia's squirming had begun to stimulate a certain area of his anatomy. He quickly restrained himself before his imagination got to him. He then glared at the short-haired pilot.

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, I DIDN'T WANT TO EVEN BE HERE! SO QUIT MOVING ALREADY! BESIDES, WE'RE IN SPACE! WHERE DO YOU PLAN TO…?"

At that moment their little awkward verbal sparring match was cut short when the ZoidDread shuddered from the impact as the alien ships outside attacked it. Brandon focused himself to the threat at hand and began to access the array of control systems in front of him. The ZoidDread came to life as he began accessing the systems of the massive machine as he then glared at his unexpected and reluctant though rather attractive co-pilot.

"As much as I want to argue a bit more, we don't have the luxury of time right now, so either you work with me here, or we're not going to do anything after a few minutes!"

Meia gritted her teeth but slowly nodded in agreement as she went to work on the foot pedals and the controls on either side of her chair.

--

The ZoidDread responded well as it's engines were opened and ignited, it suddenly darted with unbelievable speed after the enemy vessels with an acceleration rate that made the other nimble Dreads look like garden snails. The Liger was moving so fast it left after-images of itself, plus streaks of charged gases as it's acceleration charged all the surrounding particles, the same way the cannons on Lance's Liger ignited the gases around it when it was fired.

"That kind of acceleration is totally impossible!"

Barnette declared as her sensors couldn't determine the exact speed that Meia's new machine was doing.

"Meia is SO lucky! I envy her!" Jura said as she eyed Meia's machine wistfully.

--

The urchin ships tried to fight back by launching more spines, but those were dodged easily by the new ZoidDread, forcing the urchin ships to retreat. They walked right into the areas where the battle between Meia and Brandon had taken place, and unknown to them, Parfet had done some changes to the Judge's systems and the sensor drones.

--

The Judge went back into action and deployed the sensor all around the area that had been previously occupied by the battle between Meia and Brandon. This time the robot spoke to both the ZoidDread AND the Harvester units that survived.

"This fight is now changed to a battle with the Nirvana pirates and the new enemy units. This has no time limit and all moves are allowed. The boundaries are set…"

"READY…"

The robot then brought both arms down… "FIGHT!"

The new ZoidDread suddenly glowed bluish silver as the two urchin ships fired their spines. The Liger suddenly moved to one side, leaving after images of itself once more. The first enemy unit tried to dodge an incoming attack, but was greeted by the new mecha up close.

Before it could attempt to fight back, the Liger's claws glowed and it slammed into the ship, shattering it's fragile armor, the impact sent the urchin ship flying back with no way to recover. The ZoidDread then streaked forward and began making a series of passes at the vulnerable unit, the urchin ship was covered in several glowing streaks of pure energy while the Liger was like a blur of motion all around it. After a few moments, the Liger then streaked away from the first ship while it broke into multiple fragments behind the Liger and exploded like a ball filled with gunpowder.

The urchin ship that survived didn't last a second as the Liger just slammed right through it, dead center. The ship expanded like a tomato being pressed down by a heavy weight, and before anything can be done, the ship blew up like a shattered piñata.

The Judge looked and gave the verdict.

"Battle is over! Battle is over! Winner is…Brandon Reinhart and Meia Gisborn in ZoidDread…Meia!"

--

In the command bridge…

As the crew cheered on the Dreads and even the Zoids as they moved back to the ship. Magno gave a smirk as she watched the ZoidDread run back with the other Ligers beside it. Brandon and Meia did have differences, but when they worked together, miracles can happen. Though those differences will one day surface, she was confident that they would work it out soon

--

In the Zoid Hanger…

Scott and Lance looked on as two people were in another discussion.

"Now why did they have to go like this again?" Lance groaned as he looked at his oldest brother.

"You can't blame them, they STILL haven't settled anything yet." Scott said as he too watched the battle between Brandon and his opponent, and still reluctant comrade.

Dita then walked in and gave a silly smile at Lance as she ignored the battle of words between the two other people in the Hanger. She may seem to be totally oblivious to the whole thing, but she believed that things would soon work out.

"Mr. Alien! I want to show you something!"

Lance groaned, but with a gentle nudge by his middle sibling decided to follow the redhead when she called him to follow her.

--

"The battle is already over, so don't start with me!"

"Oh it's not over yet! We still haven't determined who won, since we got interrupted!"

"You're serious?! I was nearly close enough you could count the teeth Zarreke had in his mouth. Had it been a real battle and you and I WERE enemies, then you could bet all the credits in your pocket, you'd be organic paste between my Liger's teeth in a few seconds!"

"Yeah?! Well, Brandon, you should know that I had aimed all the power of my Dread to blasters…so had our match been a REAL battle, I would have blasted the cockpit you were in, to bits before you could even get your Liger's fangs a good ten feet from the cockpit of my Dread!"

Brandon felt a throbbing sensation on the side of his head. He had hoped to put the whole affair behind him, but it seemed that Meia Gisborn wasn't going to let it slide. She did have a point though, but the match had been called off due to the interference of the Harvesters.

"Fine! For today, it's a draw!" He then walked towards another Hanger area to check on his Liger.

"Fine! For today, but you and I still have a match to finish!" Meia called back as she too walked away to where her other comrade were.

As the both of them walked away from each other, they were not aware of faint smirks on their faces as they thought about their next bout someday.

Looks like the fires between leaders was far from extinguished!

--

To be Continued…

--

Well, the match is far from over between big brother and Meia, so I guess we're going to see more fights between them, eh Scott?

You got it brother! And it seems that things are getting more interesting around here, say you think our next mission will be just as interesting?

Looks like we'll all be finding out soon, plus we're going to take Bart, Duero, and Dylan to a boy's night out before the day's over! Oh and uh, Lance…

Yeah?

Take a look behind you…

Why? What's behind me …HEY?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY LIGER?!

Next time on ZoidDread! Chapter 5 – Sand and Surprise! See you all on the battle-field!

--

This officially ends this Chapter of ZoidDread, so I'll try and get the chapter of GunDread SEED to full completion, though that will be a while since we've got some serious and comedic scenes to try and write, plus some serious fighting to visualize.

Plus, like before, if anybody has some comments on making this chapter more appealing and exciting, please give me a call via email or review.

Thanks!

(+) I mean no offense with this remark.

(+) I also mean no offense with this remark.

(+) Ever seen in Zoids New Century ZERO where Bit and Liger ZERO dodged Naomi Fluegel's sniper round from her Gun Sniper at CLOSE range? Well, you can guess what inspired this scene.

(+) Ever seen Liger ZERO with Yaeger armor? Break down the Dread of Meia Gisborn and attach the said sections of the Dread to the Yaeger, and what do you get? A real mechanical vision of the term…speed demon!


	6. Sand and Surprises

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: Zoids and VanDread belong to other people and are not affiliated to this user. Therefore, any attempt to file any lawsuits shall be immediately removed and terminated. Is that understood?

( ): Thoughts

(" "): Mental Conversation

Chapter 5

Sand and Surprises

--

The Nirvana was cruising along the vast universe, intent on it's course to help defend Megele and Tarak from the new enemy that has sprung from an unknown planet, intent on attack both worlds. On the ship were representatives of the two worlds. The majority were all women from Megele, while barely a quarter were men from Tarak.

The called truce and integration of the crew had some mixed results. Bart Garsus had now been officially designated as the ship's navigator despite his awesome lack of training in the matter. Duero McFile and Dylan Krueger, both top medics from Tarak, had been assigned as medical personnel by the Captain for their extensive medical expertise.

Added to the crew were three siblings, Brandon Reinhart, Scott Reinhart, and Lance Reinhart. All three were great pilots of their unique machines they affectionately called Zoids. Apparently having never grown up in a single gender world, the three brothers were the unique aces in the hands of the pirates, with their natural talents and skills, plus the powers of their combat machines, and their talents at warfare were also a plus, as far as practical thinking was concerned.

However, not EVERYBODY liked these changes…

Paiway Underberg felt cheated of her position as chief medical officer of the newly named ship, and reluctantly became apprentice to both Duero and Dylan. She found herself at times challenging the doctors, and although she herself couldn't deny their skills and knowledge, she nevertheless was not all that appreciative of the whole deal. Plus she didn't like the idea of her best friend Dita always hanging out with Lance and his older siblings.

Barnette Orangello, Jura's closest friend was at the vanguard of the women who didn't understand nor trust the need for the men to be integrated to their crew. She had a dislike for men since being in the pirates, taking a chance at needling her male comrades at how better women were to men in many ways. She also took a big dislike to one of the Reinhart siblings, Scott as the middle brother had become somewhat a person of interest to Jura, after seeing the forms of ZoidDreads that can be formed between the fusion of Brandon and Lance's Zoids to the Paeksis enhanced Dreads of her comrades, namely Meia Gisborn and Dita Liebely. This seemed to make the tough girl somewhat…jealous and made her very wary whenever she and Scott would see each other.

Meia on the other hand was still willing to try and goad the eldest of the siblings to a match whenever possible. The aqua-haired girl defended herself, stating that their match was not completed and was officially a draw. Despite the truth that she would have lost hadn't the enemy arrived, she also maintained that she also had a great chance to defeat Brandon had the enemy NOT interfered. The leader of the Dreads still went on with her duties, but it was somewhat commonplace for the two to throw word barbs at each other.

But there were also others that accepted the changes…

Dita Liebely was ecstatic that there were men on the ship, and she called only Lance as Mr. Alien, while designating numbers to Lance's older siblings, while still calling them Mr. Alien. But the brothers knew for a solid fact that Dita had eyes only for Lance. Dita always listened whenever Brandon or Scott would talk to her and give some tips on how to snare their youngest brother. She loved being close to Lance and chasing him, along with seeing him smile when she offered him food.

Buzam or B.C trusted Brandon and his siblings, due to the facts that they were easy to approach and they were willing to trade ideas back and forth while being objective and precise. The three may had been young, but their minds and talents were hardened by many years of hard travels, making the sub commander see how talented these three were. This was also the fact that they were great combatants and she would be there to watch them as they spared with each other, as if she wanted to see what other skills they had.

Gascogne Rheingau, or Gasco was happy to listen to the three brothers when they would drop by to help the register out at times. Not to mention that she had found some people to play cards with! Brandon was good in the game along with Scott, Lance however didn't have all the skills as a card player, but he wasn't a quitter either. They were not as good with cards as the Register head was. But they were willing to play anytime with the strong but easy-going woman.

Magno also accepted the men, all of them for they needed all the help they could get. But it was nice to see the three brothers at work. Despite their serious attitude, they were very open about their feelings and were more than receptive to new ideas. Not to mention that since none of them had any of the propaganda concerning women, none of them were hostile towards any member of her crew…though they were also ready to defend themselves whenever they felt threatened.

All in all, it was a trying time for all parties involved, as most things one side took for granted as every-day life, was totally unknown and weird to the other side, and vice versa. It was culture-shock in space, but the real challenge was with the three siblings, since some of their habits would shock BOTH sides.

--

The Nirvana's food storage…

"Hmm…some carrots, some celery, a little extra chicken…"

Lance said to himself as he gathered what he could from the cold storage room. He had been planning to join his brothers in the kitchen for some cooking, he was in the mood for some salad and fried chicken. But they also planned to include several others with them. Now if only he could find what he was looking for…

"Where's the olives….all right!" Lance cheered as he found the container. The olives were going to go great with the salad he had in mind. The youngest brother and his elder siblings never failed to celebrate this particular event in their journey as it was part of any guy's life.

It was time for…

Boy's Night!

This event is always something any guy would look forward too at any juncture of his life. The chance to either cook some food and set a party with some guys and maybe some female companions, but that was out of the question right now, or to go out and party in a club of a disco ball. Both of which were also out of the question. But that definitely didn't mean that they were out of options!

"Okay, now how am I supposed to…"

"MR. ALIEN!"

Lance turned around and was immediately tackled by a certain redhead who gleefully held him. He tried not to lose his hold over the box of olives he had taken when he lifted it in order not to spill it's contents.

"WHOA!... HEY! DON'T JUST HUG ME WHEN I'VE GOT SOMETHING IN MY HANDS!"

Dita didn't care as she held Lance and snuggled even closer to Lance.

Lance gave a sigh as he then gently spoke to Dita.

"Hey, you mind letting go? I've got to go and get these things to the kitchen."

Dita nodded as she let go of Lance, she still was very interested in learning all about Lance, but she decided to lighten up a bit as she didn't want to make Lance all that angry at her. That was when she realized that Lance said something that she had heard that no man could ever know.

"You can cook Mr. Alien?!"

Lance was curious at the totally ecstatic look on the redhead's face as she took on the very curious cat look complete with large eyes. He felt a sweat-drop flow down his head as he gazed at the totally intrigued Dita.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at it, you know. Why do you ask?"

"Well, the others always said that men were crude and very inferior, and couldn't cook even water."

Lance gave a slight glare at the redhead. He had taken a great number of cooking lessons so it was very offending to him that someone said that men were inferior. He then discarded the idea, Dita was a kind-hearted girl and these were things she had heard and seen in propaganda films back on Megele. He knew that the perky girl was very open-minded or otherwise she would not be hanging out with him, his brothers, or the other men for that matter. He had to admit, she did surprise him on occasion.

"Exactly who told you those things?"

"The others in the ship, Barnette too, I've always heard that when I was back home. Do you really know how to cook Mr. Alien?" Dita asked eagerly.

Lance decided to indulge the redhead a bit. He grinned as he put his items on the cart and beckoned for the woman to follow him.

"Care to see for yourself?"

Dita had stars in her eyes! She was about to see her favorite alien do something cool!

"Sure!"

--

The women on the Nirvana were busy going about their duties. It was going to be a long trip before they would get home, so for now they were content with working on their stations. Plus they would gossip about men, sharing whatever stories they had heard in their youth and beyond.

Ezra was waling to her station when she spotted her young friend Dita Liebely walking beside the youngest of the Reinhart siblings, Lance. The young man was a kind hearted guy, and though he and Dita would not always get along, they were somewhat good friends.

"Hello Dita, hello Lance!"

The two smiled at the pregnant woman and walked up to her. Lance gave a respectful bow to the young mother to be and gave his congratulations at her becoming a mother. Ezra thanked the youngest brother and then spoke to Dita.

"I was wondering where you went Dita, you know I'm going to teach you how to knit soon, right?"

"Yes Ezra! I won't be late, I promise!" The redhead chirped happily as she and her close friend began to chat about what the bridge operator would be teaching the Dread pilot.

Lance realized that time was against him as it was time for the night out to begin. He then gave a smile to Dita and Ezra as he went to his cart.

"As much as it would sound somewhat disrespectful for me to say it, I don't exactly have the time to listen to you both since my brothers are waiting for me to arrive with my items. I hope you don't mind if I go ahead? You want to follow me still Dita?"

The redhead nodded. "I'll be right behind you in a moment Mr. Alien!"

"All right, I'll see you at the kitchen, bye Ezra."

"Good bye Lance." Ezra replied with a smile as the youngest brother walked away towards the galley of the Nirvana. That was when she spoke to Dita who seemed to look at the retreating form of Lance with a wistful eye.

"I think I'll wait for you when your done with what you want to do with Lance. Just remember to be there when I'm waiting for you, okay Dita?"

"Sure! I won't forget!" Dita said with a smile and a bow as she made a pirouette and followed Lance.

Ezra became a little curious and decided to call Dita and ask her young comrade what was going on between her and Lance.

"Why are you going to follow Lance into the kitchen Dita?"

Dita turned and replied with a smile and starry expression. "Mr. Alien's going to show me how he can cook!"

--

Dita sang happily as she went into the kitchen and began to smell the food being cooked by the three brothers. As she saw the three brothers, they were dressed in short t-shirts, pants and had aprons on their waists. Brandon then faced Dita and smiled at the buxom redhead.

"Hey Dita, can you call Duero, Dylan, and Bart to come in here to the kitchen? You can watch us while we cook, if you don't have anything else to do right now that is."

"No worries Mr. Alien 2! Mr. Alien invited me here!"

Dita said as she hugged Lance who was holding a bowl of vegetable slices.

"Did he now?"

The two elder brothers said with a grin as they stared at Lance who blushed like crazy. The youngest sibling sighed as he finally pried Dita loose as she watched them cook the meals.

--

Later…

Duero, Dylan, and Bart walked their way to the cafeteria, having gotten Dita's call for them to come to the cafeteria under the three Reinhart siblings' request. The three men wondered just what the three men were doing there.

In the bridge, the girls were gossiping as usual, as Ezra sat on her station, that was when Magno noted something and spoke to the gentle bridge officer.

"Ezra, wasn't Dita supposed to be with you since you were going to teach her stitching today?"

"Yes, Captain, but she's going to the kitchen today with Lance Reinhart."

"Oh?"

This got the attention of the crew on the bridge as they spoke to Ezra. Belvedere, one of the bridge crew members then asked Ezra what Dita was doing with one of the three brothers.

Ezra merely smiled and replied.

"Oh, Lance said he and his brothers were going to show her how they cook."

The reaction was…loud…

"THEY CAN COOK?!"

--

As the crew went towards the cafeteria, in the helm were several girls.

"Men who can cook? That's going to be interesting to see."

Jura remarked as she was with the leaders. Next to her was Barnette, Meia, Gascogne, and several other girls.

"Hah! There's no way those men can be better cooks that women! I bet they'll just make an absolute mess of the kitchen!" Barnette said with confidence as she followed her blonde friend. She knew in her mind that the men couldn't be able to cook anything good at all.

Meia didn't say much although she was rather curious on what she would be seeing.

As they arrived and opened the door, they were NOT greeted by the smell of burnt meat or whatnot, but instead they were greeted by wonderful smells and a sight none of them ever thought they would see in their life-times.

Lance was busy chopping some vegetables with a chef's knife and he was cutting them in precise amounts, almost as if he was born with the talent. Brandon was busy rolling in dough for bread while sprinkling some spices and choice flavourings on it. Scott was busy on the cooking pot, stirring it and the sounds of cooking oil heating filled the room.

"Hey! Jura, Leader, everyone, over here!"

The girls turned and spotted Dita who was watching the whole scene with excited eyes. Next to her were some completed dishes. On one plate there were some sliced fruits with cream, some baked fish, and some salads. Another plate had well cooked sausages and ham on it.

"Did you cook this Dita?"

Meia asked as she spoke to the redhead.

Dita shook her head and pointed to the three siblings as they were deeply engrossed in their cooking.

"No the good aliens did all the cooking!"

Barnette snorted and gave a smirk at the three brothers.

"Yeah, sure they did. Maybe they just asked Dita to cook those and they just want to show off."

Lance faced Barnette with a smug look as he got the vegetables and then tossed all the contents into the bowl without missing or spilling any of them…without breaking his gaze at Jura's long-time friend.

"Dita's been sitting there for the past hour, how do you suppose she could cook three dishes in that time-frame?"

Barnette gave a serious look at the youngest sibling and growled a bit in her throat.

"Like you men can cook! The only thing you guys eat are pills."

Brandon looked at her and laughed as he put the bread in the oven.

"If you're trying to compare my brothers and me to the men of Tarak, then you're wasting time Barnette. We've been raised on a co-gender world, and we've travelled to more planets that have BOTH men and women on them, so we don't work in the same circles you people do."

Scott smiled as he fished out the chicken from the pot and smelled it, and he gave a contented sigh as the smell told him they were now well cooked and ready for consumption.

"Just because we've been soldiers all our lives, doesn't mean we don't know how to cook."

"I don't believe you!" Barnette replied with a smirk.

All three brothers shook their heads and laughed even harder, making Barnette a little bit more steamed. "If you don't believe us, then taste some of the food we've already made. Tell us then if we're lying."

The girls then decided to try and see if the men were telling the truth. As they tried some of the food that was already finished, they were shocked to find that all the food was well made and very tasty. Barnette was rendered speechless, Jura was intrigued, and Meia was surprised…along with all the others.

Duero, Dylan, and Bart were inside and were amazed at the skills the three siblings had show long before the women came in the room. Though none of them have yet tried the food made by the brothers, they were impressed and confused as the three went at it and began cooking.

Brandon finished and cleaned his hands and took out the now cooked bread with some mittens and sliced the bread once it was on the tray. The bread smelled of garlic and small amounts of pepper and herbs. He then got the sliced pieces into a basket and placed on the table and smirked as some of the women tasted the newly cooked bread. They were surprised as the bread tasted well, balancing all the ingredients placed in it. He then gazed at Meia, who tasted the food and then met his gaze. The two glared a bit longer until Meia looked away from him.

Scott finally finished arranging the chicken and placing them alongside the gravy he added as the dip for the food. He walked to the table, placed the food, and allowed some of the women to try some, he looked at them and met Jura who gave him a smile that made the middle brother somewhat nervous. The blonde however didn't notice and smiled even more as she saw the embarrassment on Scott's face. Barnette saw this and gave a warning glare at Scott.

Lance sighed as he finished his last salad dish after adding the olives he had taken out of the Nirvana's food storage bay. Once he placed them into the last salad. He then got to pack his share of the meals. Both he, Scott and Brandon then got all the dishes in the packs and decided to head for the Bio-Park. Normally they'd take their Ligers out of the base and into the field, with their food, head of to a secluded spot, or to the beach. They would invite their friends, fellow cadets for a night out, and when the affair was with the family, their mom and they would have a nice family picnic, just like the old days. But since they were in space, the Bio-Park would have to do.

"Hey, as much as we'd love to share to food, we do have a celebration for the boys tonight."

Brandon said as some of the girls looked disappointed as he and his siblings got the food packed away.

"Can I come with you Mr. Alien?"

Dita asked nicely to Lance has he got the sodas and juice out.

Lance shook his head.

"Sorry Dita, but this is a Boy's Night' it wouldn't be that if we had some female company. But don't worry, you can join us next time, okay?"

Though feeling somewhat dejected, Dita nodded and smiled at Lance. "Promise?"

Lance nodded. "Promise."

The three brothers then left with the three Talark men in tow, as the girls looked at them in silence.

Jura gave a smirk as she looked at the three siblings leave the room. Scott, you're very interesting. I wonder what other secrets you have in you. She was starting to see why Dita was becoming very interested in the three men.

Barnette saw the looks of interest Jura was giving off towards Scott and felt another stab of anger at the middle sibling, she quickly counted it off as merely her ingrained lessons about men from home, but there seemed to be something missing.

--

Magno was walking down the halls of the Nirvana with BC nearby, talking about many things they had to do once they made it back to Tarak and Megele space, one of which was the presence of the three Reinhart siblings.

"I wonder what will we do with them? I've already heard about them being very good cooks. I can't believe that they can cook food the way we do, but even better in some ways." The silver-haired woman officer said to her elder superior.

"As far as I can tell, we'll all need to learn how to adapt with those three around. But I already feel like we can really trust them. After all, I did live at the time of men and women living together BC."

Buzam nodded as she knew the elder Magno when she had started the pirates many years ago, back when she had been evicted from her home because of the vain and selfish attitudes of her fellow women on Megele. Magno was among the oldest females on Megele and her skills and knowledge far surpassed her age and physical condition since she was among the original crew of the Colonial Fleet.

Despite being older than the rest of the crew by nearly being a hundred years old, the aged female carried more wisdom and authority in the pirates, as she founded them. The pirates began as a group that was disgusted by the ways of the all female planet. The planet had to deal with massive consumption of resources and energy sources by those who wanted to compete with each other over even the most trivial of matters. Many of them were runaways, political dissidents, orphans, and others were young adventurous volunteers. Only the Captain was the woman who knew the real reason why the pirates were created, and it suited the sub commander fine.

The one thing that bothered her was the ease on the woman's acceptance of the men and namely the three siblings. But she knew she could trust Magno's judgment over the whole affair.

"True…but the rest of the crew don't seem to agree, even if they are pirates and have no longer any loyalty to Megele, they don't plan on being all that accepting of the men. Even more so with Brandon and his younger siblings."

Magno nodded with a smirk. "I know, since they are not from Tarak, they don't act in the way our girls expect men in all senses to act. Meeting them must be putting the crew into the proverbial loop." The aged woman chuckled at the thought.

Even BC couldn't help but chuckle as well, after she did though, she regained her serious demeanour. "I agree, I just hope that things don't escalate to the point that one misunderstanding will make this alliance even more fragile than it needs to be."

"True…but I can say this much…the whole ship's gotten even more lively since those boys joined us. At least we won't be bored on the trip."

Both women continued to discuss their plans as they made their way to the command bridge.

--

In the Bio-Park…

"Are you sure this is safe for consumption?" Duero asked as he looked at the plate of fried chicken complete with vegetable toppings and gravy dip handed to him by Brandon. The Tarak physician was looking at his plate as if he had been handed the strangest form of matter since his days in the Academy.

On the other side Dylan was also in the same boat as he also gazed that the plate in his hand that had some fish and garlic/spiced bread on it. He also had a perplexed look as he gazed at the food on his plate.

Bart refused to eat any of the food as he watched his older comrades just in case they were poisoned by what the brothers had cooked.

Brandon laughed at Duero's nervousness good-heartedly and gave the physician a look of reassurance.

"Don't worry, we're all fine since we've eaten, besides the stuff is food, not poison you know." He said as he pointed to Scott and Lance as they were busy munching down on their own servings of food. Next to the men was an old style portable stereo which played some party music, as the men of Tarak looked at their companions they noted that the brothers would move in rhythm to the beat of the sounds coming from the system.

"What's that sound?' Dylan asked as he pointed at stereo as it played a song from a certain artist that the three brothers loved listened to a good deal.

"It's music, and if you guys want to know, it's a guy singing that song." Lance said as he finished a chicken leg.

"Who?"

"Craig David, it's an old song that we picked up from one of our travels. Scott bought it during one of his forays back on our travelling days"

(I have a liking to Craig David's songs, he's among the many artists I like listening to when I'm having some down time here at the house.)

(Italic for lyrics)

_On Friday (on Friday)  
Time to party (time to party)  
Let me see you swing and sway  
Tell me are you with me?  
Are you with me (X2)_

"Are you saying men can sing?" Duero asked, this naturally made the three siblings look with surprise at the two of them.

"Of course men can sing! Anybody can sing you know… Why, don't you guys have any celebrations that involved singing or what?" lance asked as finished his glass of juice.

Dylan shook his head. "Not to my knowledge, the only celebrations we have is when we celebrate the birthdays of our leaders, we have parades, if we're lucky have some drinks, and watch other men display their physical prowess."

The three brothers had large sweat-drops on the back of their heads as they recalled the shows they had seen pertaining to that particular celebration. And they thought seeing a bunch of guys parading like robots was weird at times…it made them happy as hell that they were not born on Tarak.

_Friday, payday  
Ready to do the things we love  
We're gonna get out groove on  
All night long  
(Ho, Hey) Give it up now for the DJ (Uh huh, yeah)  
And put your hands where my eyes can see  
It may be raining but who cares about the weather? (Get up)  
Cos when the heat is on we'll all be getting wetter (Stand up)  
It's the start of the weekend  
Don't waste no time  
For tonight is your night_

"What about you guys, how do you celebrate your world's parties?" Duero asked the siblings as he and Dylan decided to chow on the food since the smell was very much tempting them anyway.

"Well, the various forms of celebrations we have back where we come from have many forms. There's graduation day, boy's night, like the one we have right now, Prom night…" Scott said as he began to recall all the parties he and his siblings had ever been in.

"Since you all live in a co-gender planet, were there any women in those celebrations of yours?"

"Oh yeah, they celebrated right along side us men. Brandon, you recall the last Prom night we had back home on Zi?"

Brandon nodded with a smile as he recalled his last Prom before graduating. "Yeah, who was your date then?"

"I think it was Rena Blake."

"Yeah, you lucky guy, you knew she was one of the most attractive brunettes in the whole section of the Wolf class right? I was surprised she was your date, considering you two were rivals on most field tests in our Zoids if I recall it right. Not to mention a lot of the other guys were trying to get her to be their date."

"Yeah, she nearly out-ranked even you during exam day." Scott laughed as he recalled his brother's scores were nearly eclipsed by his date at the prom. Rena was the only daughter of one of the senior generals from the Republic and was considered a military brat and Zoid nut since she loved Zoids more than guys, and if any guy wanted to take her out on a date, they'd have to beat her in a Zoid duel.

He was the only one who could equal her when it came to close combat, and they came out as good friends after a very heated duel a few years ago back on Zi. She accepted being his date at the prom though they didn't have that deep feelings for each other, but in the end she became his first kiss.

After some further prodding from Brandon and his siblings, both Duero and Dylan tried the food and were very surprised at how different the food was from what they normally ate back on their world. And as they got into the mood of the festive atmosphere, they were now bale to relax in a sense. They even listened more as the brothers began to chat about what their life was like on their world and how they had been, before being sent into their dimension.

However…fate had other ideas…

--

The Nirvana's bridge…

"Captain…it seems that have located the signal, and it's coming from the planet on the screen." Belvedere reported as the rest of the bridge crew, who had come back and had resumed their duties in the bridge.

"I see…what's the planet's data?" The old woman asked as she went back to her chair as Buzam took on her usual location and listened into the data collection, and helped process it all into relevant streams of information.

"The atmosphere has a mix of oxygen, nitrogen, and mixture of natural gases that show that it can be inhabited by human life-forms. The planet however is the same in climate and geology as the men's home planet of Tarak. Deserts all around, there are some signs of water sources, but they are too far to be accurately determined." Amarone reported as she continued to study the planet on her side of the console.

"The planet appears to be having several collections of ruins, namely those matching the patterns of cities, we've also detected heat sources and signs of former habitation, but there seems to be no signs of life-forms. Due to the heavy weather, we can't be totally accurate on the readings Captain. However the signal is located in the largest collection of ruins on the map, where there appears to be twelve hours of daylight left." Belvedere reported as she scanned the planet's surface.

Buzam thought it over and spoke to the Captain. "From the looks of the planet, I'd say that most of the place is uninhabited now, we will need to recover supplies soon Captain, plus we may find more data on our enemy here."

Magno nodded in agreement, the planet looked to be no longer inhabited, and there was the possibility that supplies would be found, plus data would certainly help on where they were. The data could be anything from normal star charts to any record of the unknown enemy, if they had other weapons apart from those Cube Fighters they had dealt with a few times. The old woman had a feeling that there was more to the Harvest than just attacking Megele and Tarak.

"Our kitchen will need to have some new supplies soon, and getting more information concerning our enemies will be helpful…namely with their Harvest plan. All right then…we will need to set up a landing squadron to the surface of the planet. However we have to consider the facts that the team will need to train in other machines for this operation BC."

BC knew what Magno was implying. Despite the powerful advantage of the Dreads in terms of armour, fire-power, sensors, and manoeuvrability, they had weak-points, apart from the ones revealed by Brandon with his duel with Meia a few days before, they were designed by the Megele military for space combat ONLY and thus were unsuited at all for terrestrial warfare plus the gravity well would tear the massive fighter apart. The Megele military leaders and designer still however, considered the Dread to be their best weapon and thus didn't make the fighter combat viable on the surface of planets, leaving that to their ground troops. The pirates however couldn't afford that and thus had to choose a brand of machine that was by nature made for planetary warfare as well as space…though both women knew that the younger women would not like the idea.

"Understood Captain."

The tall silver haired and bronze skinned woman then faced the rest of the bridge crew while giving her orders for the new operation. They were to track the weather conditions to determine the best time for the team to be deployed, make sure communications was well maintained, and lastly the installation of bio-sensor/trackers to keep sight of the team members. But Buzam knew that the activity was merely the bare ground work, the real challenge came with what the team had to pilot in the mission.

"All Dread pilots, please report to the simulation room for training in Vanguard combat operations."

--

The announcement certainly got attention as the female pilots of the pirates were shocked and gave words of disappointment. They didn't want to use the Vanguards at all, but orders were orders. Several of the girls had their own opinions on the matter however as they were all selected into operational groups. The system was simple, the Dread pilots would test out the Vanguard simulations and the best pilots would form the team that would go to the planet and begin the operation.

Brandon and his siblings were also surprised by that statement as they were busy wrapping up the details of their night out while Duero, Bart, and Dylan went to their stations, they had seen the women use their Dreads and the idea of them using anything made by man seemed totally out of order…however, that certainly didn't mean that the brothers were going to ignore this new development as they knew that they would be part of this mission.

Due to the gravity generators installed into their respective Zoids, the brothers could enter and leave planets independently using the personal gravity fields made by them. Thus allowing them and their Zoids to literally walk and run on air…but they knew that even if they were at their best alone or as a trio, they knew they had to work with others on this kind of operation, and it had been a bit of a while since the whole trip began since they had been involved in a ground combat operation. They decided to check the systems of their respective Zoids first and then check just who they were going to work with.

Brandon knew however, that Meia Gisborn, being the leader of the Dread Squadrons on the ship would be part of the mission, he hoped that whatever chip the blue-haired girl had on men won't come in as a negative factor in this mission, the last thing he wanted was getting into another shouting match with Meia of all things.

("Zarreke…")

("Yes Brandon?")

Came the reply of his Zoid in his mind via the Organoid Core's mental link with him

("I'll be there to update any systems for our ground operations, after that I'll have to check just on who we need to work with on the ground mission, okay old friend?")

("Sure.")

Brandon didn't need to look at both his younger siblings to know that they were going to do the same with their Ligers. That meant that they headed for the Hanger section where they had stored the Ligers, and where the Paeksis-enhanced Dreads were also being stored, alongside the rest of the Vanguards which were nearby.

The Vanguards were not used at all and were left alone, though they had been used as sources of spare parts by Parfet and her engineers from time to time. The Vanguards were finally ready to see action, though the brothers wondered as they arrived in the Hanger to check on their Ligers, if the females were up to the task.

--

In the Vanguard simulator room…later…

Apparently when they arrived in the simulation room, there were already only a small handful of cadets left for training, many of the Dread pilots lost first time out except a handful of them. Unlike the Dreads, the Vanguards were made exclusively to be used by male combatants, taking into account the inborn close combat talents of men, and with their basic weapons, it was very fitting that men were far more adept with them than the women were.

The other Dread pilots had already left when the three brothers came on the scene, and stood beside Duero and Dylan, both men were assigned to check the combat skills and possible candidacy of the few pilots left. The process was not too hard in a few ways, but was foreign territory for the women. They had been used to high speed attacks, hit and run strikes, and using their Dreads' long range weapon systems…this contributed to their weakness in close combat which was the pinnacle of the Vanguards' combat system, the other weapons were made for long range, but since this would be a quick mission by estimations by Buzam, the Vanguards were to stick to basic combat weaponry, so they had to learn how to fight in close combat.

The girls were struggling and the process would be rather taxing on many.

"Arrrrgggghhhh!!"

Jura shouted as she got out of the Vanguard's cockpit in a huff.

"What is wrong with that machine?! Why can't it move more elegantly?! I'm leaving!"

The three brothers had seen her performance, and it was not too promising, but she did grasp the basic controls of a Vanguard quickly, and thus would be part of the mission, Barnette was also a good candidate, despite her dislike for the male machines, she actually showed a great amount of hidden skill and talent with it as she moved about a lot better than the others. Dita also showed promise, despite her own lack of Vanguard expertise. The brothers now knew that they were now part of their team and nodded.

"A small team's better than a whole army anyway." Scott said as he looked at their test scores.

"Looks like we'll be needed in the bridge to give out reports then, we need to inform the Captain on who in the Dread pilots would be part of the team." Duero said as he checked the crew names one more time. However Dylan wasn't leaving yet.

"We've got a problem to solve first Duero. Look."

Both the Reinhart siblings and Duero looked at the monitor to see Meia's image in her Vanguard training, but unlike the rest, the blue-haired female looked withdrawn, panicky, and almost hyperventilating. Her scores showed that the best Dread pilot was now also the worst Vanguard pilot, all of them however saw something very disturbing on her readings…especially Brandon.

--

Meia slammed her fist on the inside of the cockpit in anger, frustration, and…fear as the last mission recording showed her being incinerated by enemy fire, declaring her dead and the mission a complete and utter failure. As she recovered slowly from the loss…it didn't take long for her to receive a communiqué from Duero and Dylan.

"Are there medical overrides on Megele?"

"What are you talking about?!" Meia asked crossly as she tried to calm down.

The looks on Duero and Dylan's faces were grim as the medic explained.

"On our world of Tarak, doctors like us have the authority from high command to ground pilots who have mental or psychological problems from piloting Vanguards, it's a normal procedure in our military, would you like us to have to ground you?"

"No!"

"Then have your monitor settings changed to full view, that should help lessen the strain on your body and combat performance, when you are ready, we'll restart the simulation." Dylan said as the two of them signed off.

"Those two should mind their own business!!" Meia gritted her teeth and growled as she tried to calm down…but that certainly didn't meant that she was going to be left alone yet.

"What is it now?!" Meia asked as she received an incoming communiqué, she expected it to be those two nosy doctors, but instead it was none other than the man she disliked the most...Brandon Reinhart, who looked very serious about something.

"I suggest you take their advice and not ignore it Meia, that advice might save your life, if you plan on going on this mission."

"I don't need advice…from anyone, especially from men, and especially you Brandon."

Brandon sighed and looked back at her, not losing his serious look. "Fine, but I saw the last phase of your performance when I was in here, and it wasn't very promising, I'll be watching the whole thing this time."

Meia growled as she shut off her comm-link and went back on the mission.

Brandon was not in a good mood and studied Meia's performance intently. He felt that there was something totally wrong with the whole situation with Meia in the Vanguard simulator. He had a suspicion on what was breaking Meia's performance, and it could be just stress, but the results were not very good in convincing him that it was battle-fatigue…he had seen this before back on Zi, and that would mean that Meia would become a negative factor on this mission…this naturally prompted the squadron officer side of the eldest sibling as he and the others watched Meia perform a second time to begin evaluating the pros and cons of having the blue haired girl in the team.

--

Later…

Lance and Scott went back to the Vanguard Hanger and both siblings were disappointed at the sight of the coloured Vanguards, all in different shades and patterns, all of which were too…girly. They didn't mind the idea of decorating a machine of war to one's liking, but this showed them that the girls were treating the mission like some sort of social outing. The two brothers however were thankful that none tried to paint THEIR Zoids, but that certainly didn't mean that a certain someone wasn't going to try and do just that.

Lance had no warning when Dita suddenly glomped onto him, making him nearly lose his balance and fall flat on his face, much to the amusement of his elder brother.

"Hello Mr. Alien!!" Dita said cheerfully as she hugged him, she found out it felt nice to be hugging the youngest of the Reinhart siblings for some reason, he felt and smelled nice to her even if she had never hugged a man before.

"Hey! Don't just suddenly leap onto my back! I'm not a pack mule-Godos you know!"

Dita was curious about that, and being the inquisitive redhead that she was…

"What's a Godos? Is it another type of alien?"

The younger brother sighed a bit as he began to explain just what is a Godos to the perky redhead who was listening intently and also smiling. Lance barely had time to finish when Dita grabbed him by the arm and showed him to her Vanguard, which she had coloured to match his eyes of all things…that kind of surprised the youngest sibling as he wondered if Dita was acting too much like a kid. He felt even more embarrassed when she showed a slightly crude drawing of him surrounded by little green men that she had plastered on the side of her Vanguard's cockpit, saying that she felt safer with him watching her.

(Well…I can be happy that at least she didn't try to colour my Liger Kail with any paint.)

Lance said as she smiled cutely at him.

Scott shook his head with a smirk as he gazed at the two. He then sighed and was about to wander off and get a bite to eat, he looked a bit at the floor and headed for the door, he realized that he had collided into someone and they fell a bit towards the nearby wall. He looked down and realized what a mistake that was when he saw that the person he collided with was a woman and judging by her dress, the sword strapped to her thigh, and her…bust…it was a certain blonde woman.

He looked up and noted that he was right, he had just collided with Jura Basil Elden and they were near a wall with his left arm and hand near her head and his right rather close to the side of her thigh. He had done this reflexively to brace himself with his left arm and catch the person he collided with his right arm, but the wall did that for him…however, it put him and the gorgeous blonde in a bit of an awkward situation, since they were so close to one another.

"Uh…sorry, I wasn't meaning to…" He said as he moved away.

"My, aren't you taking the initiative." Jura smiled a bit.

Scott could only come up with the most intelligent answer any man would ask in this situation.

"Huh?!"

Jura smirked. "I was going to ask you to remember to combine with me in the mission today. But I see you are willing. Don't forget to combine with me then, I'll be waiting!" Jura said with a sly tone and got away from Scott.

As soon as Scott saw Jura leave the room, he mentally slapped himself and tried to relax. When Jura had mentioned he would combine with her...His hormones wasted no time in trying to come up with images that had him combining with her…but certainly not with machines!!

(Arrrgggh!)

"You moron!! Now is NOT the time for this sort of thing!! Her emerald haired friend would probably skin you alive if you tried that!"

Scott mumbled to himself as his body ached once more, along with a certain part of his male anatomy. He thanked God that nobody was nearby to see that happen, who knew what kind of chaos THAT would have caused on the ship?!

--

Elsewhere…in the kitchen…

Barnette was busy cooking up some fillet mignon to eat before the mission started. She had a craving for something nice to eat and hoped that Jura would be here soon for some lunch before the mission. She then wondered if Jura had been finally able to convince the middle sibling Scott to combine with her.

Barnette felt a bit of irritation at the thought of her best friend chasing after that male, and she didn't know why but the thought of Jura being with him made her feel rather…left out. She shook her head and focused on making the meals for both of them.

Jura arrived and smiled. "Hey Barnette, mmm, that smells good as always, almost done?"

Barnette nodded as the blonde took a seat and checked her hair, as she always did on her down time. The emerald haired woman noted the smile on her blonde friend's face and considering that she had been after a certain man, she had a sneaking suspicion…

"Did you have any difficulty convincing Scott to combine his Liger with your Vanguard today?"

Jura smiled warmly. "Not at all…in fact, he sounded VERY willing!" Jura laughed a bit at the humour of it. However Barnette didn't know why she felt a bit jealous at the idea of Jura combining with Scott, but why should she? It was only with their machines anyway.

She looked at the jar nearby and sighed in disappointment, making Jura curious at the sad sound her best friend made.

"Something wrong Barnette?"

"I was planning on putting some spices on the meat today, but the whole jar of bell peppers was nearly empty when I got in here…who would want to take so much pepper in one setting anyway?"

--

Medical Bay…

"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHHHH!! IT BURNS!!"

Bart said in great pain as he drank down a bottle of cold water. Dylan was looking at him with a curious eye as he handed yet another bottle of chilled water to the struggling Tarak cadet…who sported not just a pair of puffy red lips, but a rather enlarged tongue. The blonde cadet came in the Medical Bay screaming in pain, surprising the younger friend of Duero who was on his rounds in the Medical Bay. He had to restrain Bart and then check on him, which was when he handed Bart several bottles of chilled water.

"Why did you eat those things anyway Bart?" The medic asked in curiosity as he watched the blonde pilot open yet another bottle and chug down the contents of the bottle to calm his stomach.

"I thought…ugh…it was some of that fruit that…Brandon talked about." Bart said as he downed the last contents. "I can't believe women eat that stuff and still live!!" He shouted as he drank some more water from another water bottle. Apparently he had snuck in the kitchen and tried to find the storage area for what the women ate as a treat and mistook the bell peppers for small fruits called berries.

"Easy Bart...too much water and you'll get…"

Bart then ran to the nearby toilet and the sounds of him hurling were heard.

"...sick."

The door to the Medical Bay opened and in came Dita, who had a tray of ice cream cones with ice cream on them. The Dread piloted decided to come by the Medical Bay just to say hello.

"Oh, hello Mr. Doctor." Dita said cheerfully as she walked over to Dylan.

"Hello Dita, can I help you with anything?" Dylan asked as he faced the bubbly Dread pilot. Duero was still busy with other matters concerning Meia Gisborn when he left and handle his rounds in the Medical Bay. Since both he and Duero were Elites, it made sense that both of them were capable of piloting Vanguards, and thus Dylan asked to be part of the team, while Duero stayed behind to monitor them from the bridge.

"Nothing really, I just wanted to say hi and thank you for coming along with us on the mission." The redhead smiled warmly, just as Bart got out of the rest-room.

Bart turned and then tried to cover his lips and tongue when he spotted Dita.

"Oh hello Mr. Navigator, are you all right? You're face looks a little bit off today."

Bart panicked even more and replied. "Oh no…it's nothing really! I'm fine, thanks for asking."

Dita then recalled the ice cream she had and took out a cone which was slightly melting and handed one to Bart.

"Care to have some of this then, it's really nice."

Bart panicked even more and shook his head fervently. "Uhhh…n-n-n-no thanks! May-maybe some other time okay?" With that, the still in pain navigator of the Nirvana ran out of the Medical Bay like a bat out of hell…confusing the occupants even more.

"Men can be rather strange sometimes. I saw him taking some food from the jars and then drinking water like mad." Ezra said as she came into the Medical Bay for a routine medical check-up, however she had a rather large number of sour dough bread in her hands.

"Hello Ezra, what are you doing with all that food anyway?" Dylan asked as he looked at the pregnant woman, who blushed a bit and replied.

"I just had this craving for something sour today, would you like some?" She said kindly, offering some of her food to both Dita and Dylan.

"It's all right Ezra, I think you're baby needs that more than me." Dita said as she smiled at her close friend among the Bridge crew. Dylan had wondered about how come Ezra would eat so much food, that is until Brandon and his siblings told him that pregnant women would have strange cravings of food when their baby was growing, thus he too declined the food.

It was also when Lance came in, with a confused look on his face.

"Bart just ran past me as if he was being pursed by a hunting party after his head...plus he looked like his lips and tongue were on fire…anyone know what happened?" he asked as he sat down nearby.

"He ate something that apparently inflamed his tongue and taste buds, I'm not all that sure but he seemed to have been burned." Dylan said as he took some of the ice cream Dita offered.

"Huh?"

"I saw him eating some of the bell peppers from a nearby jar in the kitchen earlier." Ezra said with a smile as she chewed down on another sour dough bread roll. "He then ran out, and I wasn't very surprised, any person who ate that much bell pepper would have ran hard after the spiciness hits the senses."

Lance grinned and began laughing hard at the thought.

--

In the Vanguard simulator/evaluation room…

Duero was in a rather tight bind. After comparing all the readouts and results of the various Vanguard trainees, Meia Gisborn's readouts were the most troubling of all. She exhibited high signs of agitation, stress, panic, and even more troubling…fear. There was no denying it or running around it. Meia was suffering from claustrophobia, and this would be a serious blow to her performance as a pilot of a Vanguard. He tried to reason with her and help her, but instead of listening to his advice as a medical officer, she rebuked him and said that it was merely fatigue and told him to mind his own business.

She did the same thing and rebuked Brandon who said that she would need to sit this one mission out for not just the sake and safety of the crew, including those who would be on the mission, but for her own sake and safety as well. But it had resulted in a face off between the two strong willed persons…with Meia walking out and calling Brandon a nosy person and a man who didn't know what he was talking about.

Duero thought about exercising his right as a medical officer to ground Meia from the operation since she was unfit to pilot a Vanguard, however, he knew that since he was on an all female ship, his authority would not carry the same weight as it would have on a male ship. Though he and the other men, including the Reinharts were part of the crew now, he knew that many women considered them as unwanted but necessary parts of the crew. Thus he, against his better judgment of the matter, allowed Meia to be allowed into the mission.

Brandon however highly disapproved the idea and knowing the eldest of the Reinharts, he had no doubt in his mind that the Zoid pilot was already addressing the problem to the officers, namely Buzam and Magno. He couldn't blame Brandon, after all, he was a soldier who watched out for those he was with, and even more so if his blood kin were part of the operation.

Duero just hoped that it wouldn't cause too much friction on the crew than what was needed right now.

--

In the bridge…

"What is it you wanted to discuss with me Brandon? Shouldn't you be getting ready to launch the ground sortie to the planet along with your siblings?" Magno asked as she was asked by the eldest of the Reinhart siblings. The old woman noted that from the way Brandon carried himself, this would be a serious matter.

"I have something to discuss, and that has to do with your Dread team leader."

The eldest sibling said as he faded both her and Buzam. He knew for a fact that what he was about to say would get him some serious flak from not just the pirates but from Meia as well. But he was thinking about the mission and how to best accomplish it with minimal loss, and the leader in him told him to report any possible dangers to the members of the mission and ensure that such things would not occur while on his watch, it was also the fact that his younger siblings were in the mission themselves that got him focused.

"Meia? What about her?"

"I don't believe that Meia being on the ground mission is a wise strategy Captain, she has the lowest score in the training simulations and her inability to pilot a Vanguard properly in combat even in virtual space will be placing her in a seriously difficult situation once real combat begins. It's not just that though…I think Meia will have difficulty in a Vanguard and that will place her and others in greater danger due to having a negative reaction when in a Vanguard's cockpit."

Buzam and Magno wondered about the new information from Brandon. They were about to answer when the person in question came on the bridge…Meia was fuming mad as she glared deeply at Brandon who didn't flinch in the slightest, he had a suspicion she would find out sooner or later. But it DID gall him for her to find out now.

"Just what are you implying this time Brandon?!" Meia growled as she walked over and faced the eldest sibling with her fiery nature in full view.

"What I am implying is what I saw in your performance in the simulation exercises Meia Gisborn, and from what I saw, you're skills in a Vanguard are not up to what is needed for the operation, no matter how long or short it will be." Brandon answered in full neutral authority as he looked back at Meia, keeping his temper reined in and focused on what he had to do.

"Who are you to tell me when I can or can't be in a mission?! You have not authority on this ship since you are NOT my commanding officer, and you are just a man!"

"I may be a man, and I may not have such authority, but I am doing this for the good of the mission, and in this case your own good. You're performance in a Vanguard is lacking and you have shown difficulty in the whole exercise due to a certain problem, which I am assuming you are quite aware of."

Brandon WAS tempted to say claustrophobia, but knew that doing so would be asking for serious trouble and he didn't need that kind of a situation on his hands right now. Plus he was trying to be as diplomatic as possible, hoping that Meia was not THAT obstinate to just ignore the advice both he and Duero handed to her. He didn't want her to not just endanger her fellow crew-members and herself, but his siblings as well.

"You are so wrong…all I have is mere battle-fatigue, I will be fine on this mission, so mind your own business you nosy idiot!"

(I can't believe this!)

Before the discussion could go any further the rest of the crew who wisely stayed out of the discussion gave word that the time for landing on the surface of the desert was now. Meia was about to turn and head for the hanger, but her right hand was suddenly grabbed by Brandon in a painless but very strong grip…making her turn and glare at her captor.

Brandon however didn't care about her glare and spoke patiently…and perhaps a little imploringly to her as he walked forward, letting her hear him alone.

"You and I both KNOW that what you have is not mere battle-fatigue Meia, I am not stupid to not know what you're suffering from, I have seen others with that same condition and what were the results of having it and ignoring it constantly. For the sake of not just your fellow pirates but also of yourself…STAY. HERE."

With that Brandon released his grip and walked to where his Liger was stationed. He hoped that he might be able to send the important message to Meia as he went to the hanger to meet up with the rest of the strike team. It was a fact that despite their differences he respected Meia as a fellow fighter, but he hoped that she won't let whatever it was that drove her to place her in grave danger along with the others in the ground mission.

Meia growled at Brandon mentally as she stared at his retreating form. How dare he manhandle her in such a way?! Who was he to tell what she could or couldn't do?! What does he know about her?! She shook her hand a bit to get feeling back to her appendage, she could still feel the warmth of Brandon's hand on her hand through the material of her uniform/body suit. She tried to forget the feeling of Brandon's grip on her…and the strange sensations she felt when she thought about it.

Magno watched the whole thing and sensed the sudden change in atmosphere between them when she saw Brandon grab Meia's arm and speak to her. They were close enough for her to catch a portion of their private conversation. She had her own suspicions on Meia's case, but kept it to herself. However she hoped that Meia would consider Brandon's advice.

--

Later…

The Ligers of the three siblings ran out of the Hanger's Launching Bay in their normal armour. The brothers decided to stick to normal armour instead of them using their respective custom CAS armour units. They expected this to be a quick mission, just like the pirates, but they took no changes and were making what adjustments they needed to deal with what was down there.

Behind them was the Vanguard drop ship, made for the deployment of the Vanguards. Jura's Vanguard was in her chosen colour of red and pink, Dita's was naturally in the same colour scheme when she showed it to Lance, Barnette was in her chosen scheme of purple and lavender, and finally Dylan's Vanguard was in it's normal grey scheme, but had the symbol of the Talark Medical Corps on it. All four Vanguards had to ride the drop ship since the Vanguards had to rely on umbrella like devices to accomplish both re-entry and exit on planets.

The devices were able to serve two functions, the first was when opened, they could act as heat shields in the atmosphere in the reversed position and as brakes when they were used in the normal position. When they needed to leave the planet, the devices when stripped of the metal shells that formed the umbrella would have powerful thrusters that could lift the Vanguards up the atmosphere and out into space where they could use their thrusters to manoeuvre in space.

Jura smiled as she guided the ship to follow Rikera's path as Scott's Zoid was running ahead of them. The blonde had no intention of losing track of her quarry and stayed on course.

"You are not getting away from me scot-free yet Scott." (Pardon the pun)

The rest of the drop-ship crew merely shrugged their shoulders, though Barnette was not very happy to hear that come from Jura as she glared at the Liger and pilot in question through her Vanguard's sensors.

As the recon unit made their way down with their Zoid escorts, they were now being tracked by a sensor net that recorded their numbers and unit composition, in the surface a machine comes to life begins to activate what appears to be some sort of trap, all for the benefit of the incoming landing party.

--

In the Launching Bay…

"Damn! I'm too late!"

Meia gave a cry of frustration as she rushed in the Launching Bay for the Vanguards, next to her, in it's paddock was her chosen Vanguard, uncoloured and unadorned, totally showing her practical and simplistic tastes. As she looked about for an answer to her problem, she finds out that she has company…in the shape of a floating egg-shaped Navi-robot.

"You shouldn't be pushing yourself that hard, they can handle this mission well without your assistance, can't they?" Pyoro asked, citing the reasonable skills the others, namely Jura, Barnette, and Dita had shown in piloting Vanguards, compared to her at least

"No! I am the combat operations officer of the ship, I am responsible for every combat operation taken by my fellow pirates and that means I am responsible for them all down there…even the three of them." She added reluctantly as she thought about Brandon and his two younger siblings.

The Navi-robot gave a sigh and shook it's form.

"Regardless, there is little you can do right now, the drop-ship was only designed for single entry only and there are not any spares left. If you try to take your Vanguard out on a drop, you might not survive the landing." It insisted as it stared sadly at the Dread pilot leader.

Meia could only look on in disbelief at the Navi-robot as that fact was now revealed.

--

Nearing the planet's surface…

"Okay…we'll secure you ladies and gentlemen a landing zone once you drop in from the drop-ship. Meet up with us on the surface and watch yourselves…just because there's no activity certainly doesn't excuse you all from dropping your guard."

Brandon replied as he and his siblings moved ahead of the drop-ship in their Ligers and moved in diamond formation ahead. The rest of the group could do little but follow the plan as they got ready to activate their breaking systems. As soon as the drop-ship's basic CPU was able to determine their current altitude, the CPU sent the release code to break apart and flash fry it's own systems to prevent any of it's data to be taken…it was standard combat policy for strike teams of the Tarak forces.

The Vanguards then activated their umbrella like devices and began their descent through the atmosphere, the pilots of the Vanguards were relieved to see the Zoids still in diamond formation in a nearby open area of the region they were sent to where the bridge crew have determined the best landing zone for them.

Barnette and the other women struggled a bit to control their descent, while Dylan appeared to be very much relaxed in his descent to the surface. The green haired girl decided to make a perfect landing to prove to the medic and to the three brothers that women were better, however she forgot a few important facts about what she was going to do.

The first was the fact that unlike her one day only training, Dylan was required by law as a citizen of his desert world to be already efficient in Vanguard combat operations and as such had MORE time to train and field test his own Vanguard piloting skills before being assigned to the Ikazuchi. Meaning that compared to her day's training, Dylan Krueger was MORE than capable as a Vanguard pilot and operator, and being a medic certainly didn't mean that all of his work was behind the Medical Bay…as in his Vanguard was a Tarak medical bag, complete with full medical resources and supplies.

The second was the fact that despite her recently revealed skills with the basics of Vanguards, Dylan had plenty of time to know both basic and advanced methods of the Vanguard's operational structure and functions, thus he knew how to use the Vanguard more effectively in battle and on non-combat operations as well.

The third and last fact was that this was her FIRST planetary operation in a Vanguard, and though it was a technical first for Dylan, he and many of his fellow men had already gained the needed experience in ground operations with mock drop-ship deployments in simulators and REAL-TIME drop-ship exercises. The men of Tarak stressed making essential skills an automatic reflex for ALL their fellow men, and those skills had helped them survive well in their harsh world

All three facts were brought to light as the Vanguards hit the surface. Since all three of them had no experience on how to operate on land, the women had some difficulty in landing effectively as soon as the sail-like parts that made the umbrella break off from the devices. Jura skidded and landed on the sand by the side, Dita managed not to land flat on her face, but landed on her Vanguard's knees as she placed aside her take off device. Barnette misjudged her own landing and ended up slamming her Vanguard into the face of a nearby sand-dune. She shook her head and turned her Vanguard to watch with anger and disdain, Dylan Krueger landed perfectly, Vanguard on it's feet and it's planetary escape device neatly strapped for use on the back pack. To further aggravate her the man's Vanguard walked over to her and he contacted her, his face concerned.

"Barnette, are you all right? You took quite the spill on that landing, any injuries?" The young medic asked, being the consummate medical officer that he was, like Duero.

The green-haired woman however didn't seem to notice or care about the man's questions as she guided her Vanguard up and moved away from Dylan's own in a rush. Dylan wondered if she was really all right and tried to follow her when Scott's Liger Rikera growls a few times at him, the Tarak medic was unsure about what the living machine was saying until Scott himself appears.

"Rikera said that she's not in the best of mood right now Dylan, it would be best that you leave her be. I know I would…"

"But she could be injured, I saw her take a serious landing despite the restraints she was wearing." The medic insisted.

"I scanned her Vanguard, and so did Rikera, she's fine, the only injury she might have is something you can't cure, even with all your skills."

"What's that?"

"Her pride most likely…listen, don't worry, she's fine, we've got a job to do though, so let's get to it."

The Tarak male nodded as he went on with the others to locate any signs of life on the planet while they were there on the surface, if they found nothing, then they would leave this planet and continue on their journey.

--

The Nirvana…

"How many hours do they have left?" Buzam asked the bridge crew as they monitored the situation of the ground team on the planet's surface.

"At least nine more hours Commander." Ezra replied as she worked hard and tried not to faint like the last time, when she had her pregnancy discovered.

Buzam nodded as she contacted the ground team via comm.-link.

"You all have seven hours of daylight left, if you can't find anything of value then leave as quickly as you can, if there is anything worth salvaging and sending down a ground team, then contact us and prepare to act as ground security."

--

On the ground…

"Understood Commander." Barnette replied as she moved her Vanguard around along with the others, her two female comrades were now already paired with a searching partner, namely Jura was working with Scott and Rikera, while Dita was working alongside Lance and Kail. Both teams were already doing their part while she was saddled with Dylan Krueger. The green-haired woman was not in the best of moods, not only due to the alliance they had made with the men that went against her upbringing. But she now had to work with one that had just made her look like a foolish school girl!

"Bad enough that we have to work alongside men…now I have to pilot their ugly machines and work with one!" She said silently as she could.

That was when Dylan's face appeared on her communication systems. He appeared to have his expression on neutral and spoke in a patient tone.

"I understand your dislike and reluctance to work with men Barnette, but there is nothing that can be done right now…we have to work together in order to get back to our respective worlds…personally I don't quite like the idea, but it has…"

"You've made you're point you stupid male! Stop talking and let's just get this done!"

In his Vanguard, Dylan was busy using his years in med school to keep him from verbally lashing out at Barnette. Her calling of him being a stupid male was by all rights uncalled for and under normal circumstances…in his mind anyway, she deserved to be given disciplinary sanction, but since the vast portion of the crew on the Nirvana were all women and men were the smaller minority, thus such an idea was out of the question. He kept his calm and went on with the mission.

Brandon had heard the exchange between the two due to his training in tapping communication systems back in the academy. He sighed mentally and hoped that nothing would occur to make this situation even worse. He then got into contact with his brothers.

"Any luck locating any survivors?"

"Not a thing brother…this entire planet looks deserted…not even sings of any indigenous animal life." Scott reported in, just as Lance came on the communication system.

"Guys…I've got a really bad feeling about all this. This place feels worse than a desert…it's like a grave-yard here…there's nothing but wreckage and ruins."

Scott nodded. "Lance is right Brandon, this entire situation just outright stinks…no sign of habitation…heck as far as Rikera and I can see…there are not even any signs of a fight, no wrecks from anything remotely that of war machines…this feels like a trap."

Brandon thought it over and asked Zarreke…since his Organoid was the oldest and wisest of the group.

"What do you think Zarreke?"

I'm not all that sure myself…but I do agree with Scott and Lance's suspicions, this feels like a trap.

Brandon then spotted Dita as she seemed to be getting ready to use her Vanguard's thrusters.

"Dita? Where are you going?"

The redhead replied. "I'm going to take my Vanguard up to see if there are any other things we can see here."

Jura's Vanguard then suddenly walked over to Scott's Liger and the blonde smiled warmly at Scott…who immediately blushed at the seductive look the blonde Dread pilot was giving him.

"I think that now is the right time for us to combine, don't you think so Scott?" The blonde asked seductively.

Both brothers couldn't help but laugh at the look of utter embarrassment on Scott's face at THAT comment, the blush was due to the double entendre in the statement, since he naturally heard combine and his male instincts placed that statement on the reverse.

"Aw hell you two… now is seriously not the time for this sort of thing!" Lance said in mock disgust.

Brandon also looked a bit disappointed. "Yeah, we're in the middle of a mission here! If you two WANT to combine do it somewhere else…better yet…get a room."

"WILL YOU GUYS STOP THAT!!" Scott said in utter embarrassment and then looked at Jura.

"Please stop talking about you and me…combining already, what are you trying to do?! Embarrass me to death?!"

Lance turned Kail around and when he used the Liger's built in magnifying sensors, he spotted a functional camera and it was pointed right at Dita as her Vanguard was now in the air…he then spotted what appeared to be a laser cannon and he realized that Dita might have done something wrong.

"DITA!! LOOK OUT!!"

The warning came too late as the beam launched out and struck the Vanguard hard on the chest, but apparently was made to hinder movement instead of causing damage as the colored Vanguard was covered in arcs of electricity. Dita yelped in pain as her Vanguard went down, temporarily shut down it's systems.

Lance guided his Liger and used his Zoid to stop the falling Vanguard by cushioning the Tarak built war machine with his Zoid's body. Kail growled out in pain as the Vanguard slid down on the Liger's body, it was damaged…but it wasn't enough to incapacitate the Zoid in most ways.

Lance immediately got into contact with Dita and was relieved to see the redhead was all right and was moving about.

"You okay Dita?!"

Dita moaned as she shook her head, thankfully her body didn't suffer any broken bones from the impact due to the restraints in the cockpit. As soon as she heard Lance's voice she looked at Lance and smiled warmly.

"Thank you for saving me Mr. Alien!"

"You can save the thanks for later…you okay?"

"Yeah…what happened?"

The same question was in Jura, Barnette, and Dylan's mind, but that was soon answered as they all looked up to spot more lasers surrounding that area of the sky above them, all were now converging into a crisscross pattern, in moments the area of sky above them was now blockaded by lasers.

"We just walked into a trap…that's what happened!" Scott said as he looked about for any sign of hostile forces coming from the areas and ruins around.

That was when the weather seemed to pick it up a notch and come to life…sending waves of sand from the ground slamming into the ground forces.

"Sand-storm!"

--

The Nirvana's command bridge…

Duero, who had been assigned a position in the bridge to monitor the vital signs of the crew send down to the planet's surface suddenly noted an elevated increase in their reactions and vital signs, this only happened when something unexpected happened.

At that exact moment, the bridge crew were shocked as they detected a massive weather anomaly suddenly appear out of nowhere and blanket the area where the landing party were…along with their communications suddenly being jammed.

"Something is happening down there! They're in confusion and fear!"

Buzam acted quickly and ordered the crew on the bridge to calm down and focus on trying to raise the ground team, Celtic, Belvedere, Amarone and Ezra complied as best they could as they worked quickly to regain communications with the ground team, Buzam then tried to hail the ground forces that they had deployed on the planet's surface.

"Ground team…what is going on down there?"

"We…triggered…some sort…"

"Triggered what? Ground team, what have you activated?"

"Some…of trap! We can't…take off!"

"Look out!"

"What the?!"

Buzam tried to make sense of what was happening now as the images of the ground team began to break up in static.

"What's happening Ground team?"

"The…the sand…it's attacking us!!"

Buzam suddenly spotted being calm and a drop of sweat flowed down her face as she looked at the situation in shock and surprise.

"The sand is attacking them?!"

That was also when Pyoro came on the screen and told her another bit of news…which was not a good thing at the right time.

"Meia's gone where?!"

--

"I am responsible for the missions on the ship…no way am I going to sit on the side-lines and do nothing!"

Meia said as she guided her Vanguard through the landing phase to the location of the landing party's coordinates. Despite Pyoro stating that it would have been far better that she remained on the Nirvana and let the ground team work on their own…her nature and long years as leader, plus her personality wouldn't let her and she took the chance to launch her Vanguard anyway…she didn't care about what Brandon might say should he find out as she used her breaking umbrella…however her fear of closed spaces was on and it got worse the very second as the weather slammed into her Vanguard as she tried to counter her fear and keep her vanguard level.

--

On the ground…

"Ahhhh!!"

"Damn it! What the heck is going on?!"

The Vanguards and the Zoids suddenly found themselves being hit not just by the sand in the sand-storm, but also by waves of sand that seemed to target them and them alone. The sand quickly got on the armor, joints and servos of the machines, causing them to seize up and stop moving. The sand however had a far more sinister ability connected to the fact that they somehow moved as if they were alive. As soon as they made contact with the Vanguards and Zoids, they began to spread and cover any section that wasn't covered.

Dita watched in fear as the scanners of her Vanguard indicated that her machine's power supply and information were being drained out, almost in the same fashion as a leech would suck out blood from whatever animal it came into contact with.

"The sand is draining the Vanguard of it's power supply and copying the systems…it's like having the blood drained out!"

Dita tried desperately to move her Vanguard and try to remove the sand off of her, as Lance and Kail tried to help her, but the Liger too was unable to help, just as it's other counter-parts had a hard time getting the sand off of themselves.

"Damn! The sand's copying Kail's systems as well!"

The youngest of the Reinhart siblings could tell that the sand was doing the same to his brothers' Ligers and the results were not too pleasant.

Brandon however wasn't going to give up and then re-routed a good and manageable portion of his Zoid's power, Zarreke then created an ion shock field that fried the sand into becoming brittle and with a few shakes broke the sand off, the eldest then went over to try and free his brothers.

"Leave this to me!"

Jura's Vanguard came out of nowhere, free of the sand and then directed her Vanguard's exhaust vents and reversed the air-flow, allowing the air to wipe off the sand from Scott's Zoid, Rikera then spoke telepathically with Zarreke and as soon as enough sand was blown off the Liger to allow it to stand, it used the ion strike field to turn the sand into nothing fused brittle pieces, once that was done, the Liger merely shook the shattered pieces off. Scott then turned and smiled thankfully at Jura.

"Nice move."

"There is a way you can thank me you know, and you already what that is." The blonde said seductively.

Scott could only shake his head in disbelief at the blonde.

"Are you STILL stuck up on all that combined transformation business? In case it escaped you're attention Jura Basil Elden, the only machine Rikera can combine with IS you're Dread. How is my Liger supposed to fuse with a Vanguard hen it was never meant to in the first place?"

The net result of that bit of truth was obvious as Jura went from being pleased to shocked…and then utter disappointment as she pouted and threw a tantrum.

"WHAT?! Are you kidding me?!"

"I kid you not."

"Oh on! If I had known all that, I would have never trained for this mission!"

(Me and my big mouth…)

Scott then called to Jura, trying to calm her down, the last thing the middle sibling wanted was a hysterical female comrade in a fight, that was the last ANYONE needed at this point since they still had to find a way out of this trap before anything else happened.

"Jura! Calm down! You'll get you're chance soon enough, but right now we need to keep focused…who knows, we might just…"

The last words were not spoken as Dylan contacted all of them as he took out the halberd of his Vanguard, showing that he spotted hostile forces.

"We've got company!"

Dylan said as the others then saw forms come out of the sand around them. As soon as they saw their enemies…the landing party couldn't believe what they were looking at.

--

SLAM!!

Meia's Vanguard smashed hard on the surface of the desert planet and got a face full of sand to boot, due to the weather surge, she was off target from the landing party and had no idea on what was happening. The landing had caused a power surge, forcing the Vanguard's CPU to shut down some system, plunging the cockpit into darkness…this naturally had a negative effect on the claustrophobia of the young woman as she began to breath faster, sweat and look more unfocused.

She however was broken out of her growing fear by an insistent beeping in her communication systems, since the back-up power packs were active at the time of the power surge. As soon as she managed to push away enough of her phobia to activate the comm system…Duero's voice then came on the line as he tried to call her and get her to focus.

"Meia! Meia, listen to me, turn on you're Vanguard's view screen and look as far away as you can!"

Meia did so…but her independent nature, pride, and dislike for men was still there.

"That man…should, mind his own…damned business, I don't need his or any man's help!"

As soon as she did what Duero suggested once the Vanguard's view-screen, her heart and breathing rates began to return to normal…however that feeling of calm was not meant to last as she spotted…a terrifying form

--

In the Nirvana…panic grew a bit more obvious as Amarone reported in fear that Meia's Vanguard transponder signal had just vanished from their scanners, and Duero's report of Meia's life-signs showing complete mental lock-down told Magno and Buzam that something had happened to Meia…something horrible enough to place the tough Dread Squadron leader in absolute shock.

Buzam wasted no time and got into contact with the ground team, despite Meia's breaking of protocol by not telling the crew of her departure, they could not afford to lose anyone in their crew to the enemy.

"Brandon! Scott, Lance! Dita, Dylan, Barnette, Jura! Do any of you copy? We've just lost Meia's transponder signal! She's on the planet and she is under attack! You have to go find her!"

--

The landing party got the message but were in the middle of a rather messy fight as they faced off with their foes…apparently the sand had gathered enough data on the Liger ZERO units and the Tarak Vanguards to create replicas of their own out of pure sand. The sand copies of both the Vanguards and Liger ZERO Zoids attacked at the ground party was forced to fight…but not before a certain member of their group had a comment to the message.

"SHE'S WHAT?!"

Brandon was in absolute shock and disbelief. He had specifically told the Captain and Commander not to allow Meia to participate in this mission due to her inherent trait of claustrophobia, not to mention he tried to reason with her also. He didn't plan on letting her get herself into trouble and put the others, including his brothers at risk with her poor Vanguard piloting skills and her fear of closed spaces, he saw her potential as a pilot and he respected that and losing it was a serious mistake…but now she had just jumped into this mess…and naturally he was not in a good mood about it.

(Does that woman have a death wish?!)

He didn't have time to answer the question as the enemy came at them. Both he and his brothers and their Ligers were ready, just as the female pirates and their sole Tarak ally charged into the fray as they put their newly gained Vanguard combat skills to the test.

Unfortunately the pirates were woefully unprepared and poorly experienced in Vanguard warfare tactics to make any leeway on the matter as they were so used to flying Dreads, that they were unprepared for the basic hand to hand combat scenarios that the Vanguards were rudimentarily built for by their makers.

Dita was struggling with the first sand Vanguard she fought with and saw that like the sand-storm, the sand construct was also draining her Vanguard of it's power supply.

"No…it's draining my Vanguard of power! Help me please!"

A roar was the only thing she heard as she spotted Lance and his Liger ZERO smash right into the side of the Sand Vanguard and ripped it in half with both claws and teeth. Lance then faced off with a copy of Kail as both the original Liger ZERO and the sand Liger ZERO faced one another.

The Reinhart siblings were using their CAS armor systems with the exception of Lance due to several very important reasons, the first was that despite his Liger's ability to still move and the cooling systems he had, this was close quarters and having Kail overheat at the wrong time was to be avoided, the second was that his Panzer CAS was designed for long range bombardment and suppression fire…not close combat like Brandon's Jaeger CAS or Scott's Schneider CAS, and the last reason was the fact that his CAS' weapon system would hit his fellow comrades, thus he was the only one of them who was using his Liger's basic weapons and armor, but like his siblings had trained hard with both the CAS and basic armor.

Both Liger's clashed as the Sand Vanguard tried to use it's own claws and teeth to defeat Kail and Lance, but both Ultimate X Zoid and pilot were able to avoid the attacks and with a powerful tackle, knocked the sand copy down and Kail bit the throat…ripping the sand creature apart with both teeth and claws.

Lance then moved away and guided his Zoid to leap on the chest of another Sand Vanguard and rip it's face off with it's teeth and claws. He then guided his Zoid to move beside Dita's Vanguard as she called out her thanks to him via comm.-link.

"Thank you Mr. Alien!"

"That's all right, though I wish you'd stop calling me that, stay close and don't fall behind, you understand?"

"Yes!"

The three brothers and their Zoids leaped into the fray and ripped down more of their Sand Copies and that of the Vanguards, giving their team mates some breathing room. Dylan however didn't need too much help as his halberd sliced off the hands, arms, and heads of the Sand Vanguards and the heads and paws Sand Liger ZERO units that tried to attack him. Since he was more skilled with a Vanguard, he was very much a lot better trained in it's use than the others were.

"All of you…stay close to one another and don't let your guard down, don't let then attack you from behind and be on the move." Brandon said as he and his brothers led the counter-attack.

"I don't take orders from any man!" Barnette shouted as she managed to punch the head off one Sand Vanguard.

Brandon however was on full combat leadership mode and as such, didn't care what Barnette said as he and his siblings attacked their foes…moving to an area that would afford good fighting room and maneuverability for all of them. They then called the others to follow their lead. This was where they were good at, close combat was what their Liger ZERO Zoids were made for, just like their old Blade Liger forms were.

"I'm right behind you Mr. Alien!" Dita called out as she followed all three Ligers into combat.

Barnette was shocked and angered at something she thought she would never see…a woman following a man's orders!

"Dita! What are you doing?!"

Dita replied while beating away a Sand Liger with her Vanguard's feet and fists. " Mr. Alien and the other Mr. Aliens are tying to help us!"

Jura then got into the comm.-link with Barnette and spoke to her close friend from Megele as she followed Dita's Vanguard.

"Barnette, we don't have the time to complain, Dita is right, Brandon and his siblings are the only ones who can help us right now and if we want to leave this place then we have to follow them! Now come on!"

Barnette growled in anger but relented as she followed them.

The fighting was fierce now as the Ultimate X Ligers took on the Sand Ligers and the Sand Vanguards, while they were supported by their Vanguard allies. The Ligers fought like real live beasts as they leaped, tore, and bit their foes, both Brandon and Scott used their CAS when the space and time permitted as they were now able to take down enough Sand Copies to force whatever controlled the sand to re-think it's attack plan.

Brandon used this chance to contact Barnette and give her the mission to find Meia.

"Barnette, use the coordinates of Meia's last known position and find her and take Dylan with you…we'll remain here and deal with them."

Barnette glared at him. "I said I don't take orders from a man! And no way am I going to let some…!!"

Brandon's eyes became frosty and his expression was one of barely suppressed anger. He already had enough problems to deal with…along with his anger and disgust at Meia for not listening to the truth and now getting into this mess. As a soldier and as of this moment the ground team leader, he was NOT in the mood for back-talk and insubordination and as such spoke in the most serious voice he could muster.

"Listen…we do NOT have the luxury of time to be arguing right now. Meia herself is in danger…so either you follow my orders on this mission or Meia is done for…do I make myself clear?!"

Barnette glared but couldn't argue as the way Brandon was looking at her told her than no matter how she felt at the moment…getting on the bad side of Brandon was not a very healthy idea, not t mention he was right, despite her dislike of him his orders made sense as losing Meia was something she didn't want to happen at all, so she and Dylan took off to find Meia.

Just as more Sand Vanguard and Sand Liger ZERO Zoids came out and attacked the others.

--

In the Nirvana…

"Run a full analysis on what is making the sand and weather react this way!" BC ordered as soon as communications was reestablished with the landing party, they needed to know just what the ground team was fighting with.

The bridge crew wasted no time and dedicated all of their resources and efforts to do what they could to find the culprit behind this sinister attack. Ezra then complied all of what they could learn from their scans on the main screen of the Nirvana's bridge. On the screen appeared to be some sort of robotic tick.

"It appears that the device on the screen is the one responsible for the sand acting this way Captain."

"This must be a trap left behind by our enemies." Magno said as she realized how they had fallen into this ambush and was not very happy with this mess and her actions. But she put that aside and focused on the task at hand. "And with that energy net over the area, our Vanguards will have no other way of escape. What's their status BC?"

Buzam studied the situation and was pleasantly surprised as the scans told her that the Vanguard were able to fight back. "The Vanguards are in the middle of what appears to be a counter-attack. The Liger ZERO Zoids are in the front and leading the strike."

"Brandon and his brothers are leading them? What about Barnette?"

"She and Dylan went out to look for Meia."

"I see…all we can hope for now is that they find a way out of this mess."

--

In her Vanguard that was now being covered by sand, Meia's fears were closing in n her as her Vanguard began to lose power once more. He touched her sweat covered face as she breathed laboriously, and her body began to lock up in shock and panic, both her heart and breathing rates climbed in her fear and panic…she continued to speak incoherently as well…

"W-W-W-What…what…d…d…d…do I do? I…I'm so scared…help me…please…someone help me…"

It was at this point that two other Vanguards came on the scene…

Barnette was in a state of shock as she saw Meia's Vanguard being covered by sand and there seemed to be no movement at all from the down machine.

"MEIA!!"

As Barnette rushed to the stricken machine and tried to remove the sands, Dylan tapped into the Vanguard's sensors and communications systems…when he saw Meia's vital signs and heard her incoherent mumbling… his fears, and that of both Duero and Brandon were realized…Meia had given into her phobia and unless she was freed from it she would be severely damaged in her mental state.

"This is not good…Meia's claustrophobia is beginning to go to the advanced stages…we have to snap her out of it before she suffers full mental collapse!"

Both Vanguard pilots then tried to remove the sand in unison, but both their exhaust vents had been too baldy clogged up to be of much help, plus they had been fighting and some damage had made the situation even more desperate.

Meia's fear however had reach critical mass and in a state of pure panic and hysteria, she reached out and punched her Vanguard's thrusters to full power, causing more damage to it's systems and she was struck down by another laser beam, and this one had even more dire consequences.

--

"Oh no…what now?!" Scott groaned as the entire area was suddenly filled with the sounds of sirens…and ever since their five year odyssey in this universe, they knew it was a bad sign.

Magno then contacted them all in the communiqué.

"Listen all of you! You have to evacuate from the planet now! Ezra and Buzam had located what appears to be a massive chain of bombs underground that has enough explosive energy yield to turn the entire surface of that planet into glass!"

"You all have three hundred seconds to evacuate! That is the exact time you have before the self destruct takes effect!"

Both Brandon and Lance glared at their brother.

"You just had to ask!"

--

The ground forces were still trying to find a way to break past the barrier that kept them trapped and fighting off the Sand Copies of their machines. Brandon and Zarreke just ripped off the legs of a Sand Vanguard when they spotted yet another one heading down towards them.

"That's it! I've had enough of you!"

But just as Zarreke poised to strike as Brandon controlled him to do…they spotted two more Vanguards appear behind the sand covered one, one they recognized as Barnette's and the other being Dylan's.

"DON'T ATTACK!! IT'S MEIA, THE SAND'S TAKEN OVER HER VANGUARD!!"

"What?!" Brandon asked in surprise, just as Dylan came in on the comm.-link.

"Meia's completely overcome with catatonic shock, Brandon! I can't seem to shake her out of it!!"

"Great! That's it! I'll wake her up myself!"

In her Vanguard, Meia was completely catatonic…like a doll as she was completely seeped in her fear of closed spaces. However she was suddenly jarred as something massive slammed into her Vanguard, she would have ignored it due to her fear shocking her senses had she not heard a certain Zoid pilot's voice.

"Hey! Meia Gisborn, you had better get a grip on yourself, cause we do not have the time for this sort of thing!!"

"S-S-Stop! D-D-D-Don't worry about me…leave now… save yourselves!"

"What?! Quit acting like you're planning to be a martyr or you have a death wish or both damn it! I have never abandoned anyone in a mission for the past years of my life and despite this fracas I am not about to start now!"

Brandon knew that using his Liger's claws was out of the question and he knew that there was no time to ask Jura to come in and use her Vanguard's vents since she was in the middle of a fight. That was when he recalled using the same trick he had used to free himself from the sand that tried to engulf him and Zarreke. He then realized that until the Sand Copies were neutralized along with the barrier, they would be trapped. He then spotted what appeared to be a massive container tank structure. Running Zarreke's sensors on it, he found that the mixture to be several degrees colder than the outside environment and this would prove valuable in giving them enough time to escape the place they were on.

He quickly called Lance and orders him to activated his Panzer CAS and aim for the reactor on his mark. Lance wasted no time, trusting his eldest brother's judgment that had saved their lives for five years, activated his CAS Armor and aimed his Hybrid Cannons and waited…right in time with Brandon using a portion of Zarreke's power to create the ion field effect once more, the result was that the sand hardened, allowing the Zoid to break off portions of the sand…and that was the mark Lance waited for as he fired the Hybrid Cannons into the tank.

--

The Nirvana…

"150 seconds!"

"Did you hear that? Get out of there now!!" Buzam said once more to the ground team as they continued to track the timer.

--

"Give us a bloody minute will you?!"

The group didn't have to wait long as the cold gases flooded the entire area of the battle-field. Jura complained briefly due to the sudden drop in temperature…her body caught off guard by the freezing temperatures…but then realized that it was actually a good thing as the Sand Vanguard she was fighting with earlier became solid fell apart. Along with the other Vanguard copies and the Liger ZERO Zoid copies. Along with that was the shut-down of the defensive barriers.

"Wow! You aliens are so smart!!" Dita cheered as she saw the results.

Even though it was yet another blow to her pride as a woman of Megele…Barnette admitted that the strategy of both Brandon and Lance was effective.

"No time to admire the handy work Dita! Get you're escape unit and move out now!" Scott replied as he and Rikera moved in and watched, just in case more Sand Copies appeared unexpectedly.

Barnette and the other then grabbed their rocket escape units and got ready.

Meia blinked as light made it's way into her cock-pit and she swore in anger and disbelief that she now owed Brandon her life three times now. The thought of that, plus all the times he stood her up made her very angry. She tried to get her Vanguard to move, only to discover that while she was in her catatonic state of shock, the Sand had drained her machine of all it's power.

"Damn it! My Vanguard's totally out of power it won't move!"

Brandon realized that there was no time to be delicate and he faced both his siblings and their Zoids.

"Escort the others out of here now! I'll catch up with you once I get this done!"

Both Lance and Scott shook their heads along with Rikera and Kail.

"No way brother…we all leave this place or we don't leave at all!"

Lance then called Dita on the comm.-link.

"Take off Dita! NOW!"

"But!"

"Don't argue with me! Go!"

Dita and the others knew that time was too short and despite her dislike of leaving Mr. Alien and his brothers behind, she activated her rocket escape unit and left along with Jura, Barnette, and Dylan.

Brandon was further angered, but wasted little time as he used Zarreke's teeth to rip open the upper torso of the vanguard, exposing Meia to the light as he opened his Liger's cockpit. He glared at Meia trying to rein in his temper at her actions this day.

"Get in!"

"What?"

"Right now…this is not the time to care if we are men or women Meia, if you don't plan on dying like this…get inside now!"

--

"Thirty seconds!!"

--

Meia looked at Brandon…and made her choice.

--

In the Nirvana…

"Time's up."

The second after Belvedere made that report, the timer hit zero and the crew of the Nirvana saw the entire surface of the planet covered in explosions as huge spheres of explosive energy covered the surface of the desert world…ripping it to pieces. With both communication systems offline and filled with static along with Duero's medical monitors showing static and no images as well…the pirates began to assume that the worst case scenario they had feared had come true…however their fears were defused and they were high spirits as the monitors of Duero's console came to life and showed that all of the ground team members were alive and all accounted for.

He checked and reported to both Magno and Buzam when they saw that Meia's Vanguard wasn't among them.

"Meia is inside Zarreke with Brandon…apparently she had to abandon her Vanguard due to it being drained of all it's power."

"I see…how is she?"

"She's fine…certainly a lot better than when she was in both her Vanguard and the cockpit simulators. I am sorry Captain, I held my peace and so did Dylan on this matter but I can see that it was a mistake…"

"I understand…I had suspected something was wrong Meia for a while…and today has confirmed my suspicions to be true. I believe it is time I had a chat with her on this matter."

They had no idea that in Zarreke's cockpit…Meia had just been given a warning n what expect.

--

In Zarreke's cockpit…

Brandon smiled in relief as he saw that everyone was safe and sound and even his passenger seemed fine…however his smile faded and a cold neutral look replaced it as he looked behind him.

"Are you all right Meia?"

No answer…

"Meia…didn't you hear me? I asked if you are all right?"

Meia didn't plan to answer him since she was still calming down after all that had happened and since she still was not going to trust Brandon and her wounded pride forbade her to let it slide…however she did answer him.

"I'm fine." She said in a whisper.

"What was that?"

"I said I am fine Brandon Reinhart!" She said with a much louder tone of voice.

Brandon's response was cold and very neutral but she knew that she was going to be expecting a serious situation soon since she could sense a great deal of restraint in his tone.

"Good…because once we get back on the Nirvana…you and I are going to have a VERY important discussion."

--

Once the pirates were able to read the information that they were able to gain about their foes, they realized just what kind of foes they were dealing with. The data was an announcement on what appeared to have been an acquisition list, but not of materials, resources, and equipment or even a trade in personnel…but in human organs and liquids. The list went on describing the collections of red blood cells, white blood cells, lymph products and all other blood products were in good condition…like a farmer's announcement of his yearly harvest.

They were shocked and disgusted…the enemy meant harvest in every meaning of the word…the aliens viewed human beings as nothing more than crops or livestock!!

Whoever they were…they were very dangerous.

--

In the Nirvana's hanger…

Scott and Lance looked as the surviving Vanguards were placed aside, Parfait decided to keep the Vanguards as a reserve force, and since they didn't have the luxury of time and who knew what dangers would await them. With what they had experienced…should a ground mission be ever assembled they then would have a chance to even up the odds a bit…should it come to that.

The two brother however could tell that a storm was brewing the very second their eldest brother opened his cockpit and out came Meia, who apparently recovered and was planning to rest. The way Brandon 's eyes however were directed at Meia showed to them that there was going to be a storm all right…a storm of wills…and it seemed that Meia threw the first punch by walking away from Brandon…who naturally responded.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Meia looked back and glared. "What business is it of yours?"

Brandon got out of the cockpit and walked over to Meia, though he tried to keep his posture neutral his anger was radiating off of him. The others noticed what was about to happen and naturally began to react.

Dita held her hands together and hoped that Mr. Alien's big brother and Meia didn't fight one another.

Barnette hoped that this would be interesting, while Jura stood nearby, both friends were interested how this would play out between the two pilots.

Dylan knew this was going to be bad news and sent a communiqué to both Duero and the Captain.

"It IS my business. I did say that once we were on the Nirvana you and me are going to have a discussion…or did you just decide to conveniently forget that detail?"

Brandon and Meia were now face to face with one another near a large crate. Since Brandon was a head and a half taller than Meia it was a rather interesting sight as he glared at her while she was still very much glaring at him in return.

"No I haven't, but there is nothing for us to talk about Brandon so back off."

Brandon didn't step aside however, forcing Meia to move back and look at him.

"There IS something for us to talk about Meia Gisborn…and that thing we are going to talk about now is why didn't you stay on the ship when I asked you to?"

"Who are you to tell me when I can go on a mission or not on this ship?! You are a prisoner and a man! You have no authority over me!"

"That is where you are wrong…I and my brothers have already been integrated into this crew officially by your Captain until we all get back to Tarak and Megele, and as a member of the crew of the Nirvana I distinctly told you that due to you're psychological condition, you were not fit to go on the Vanguard mission, and I even tried to tell you that when we were in the bridge…but you went down there…regardless of you're mental condition…and look what happened!"

"What mental condition are you blabbering about you thick-headed male?! I am merely suffering from fatigue and that is it!!"

That however was a mistake and Brandon lashed out in anger…slamming his hand in a fist on the crate near the left side of Meia's head.

"Fatigue?! Meia Gisborn…I consider you a very skilled pilot and squadron leader, and an intelligent fighter…but how can someone of your skills, experience, and intelligence be utterly stupid?!"

"How dare you?!"

"I dare because you and I ALREADY know that fatigue is NOT what you have!? I was there when you were evaluated in the simulators in Vanguard training and I saw all of your symptoms remember? You were hyperventilating, having increased heart-rate, higher blood pressure, you were sweating, indecisive, you're reaction time dropped, and you were panicking, and when you were in that Vanguard in the mission…you were in a state of catatonic shock…I knew what would be the cause and that is why I tried to get you off the mission in the first place…because you would endanger yourself and others with that condition. Yet…you went down there regardless of those facts. I didn't say it before because I had hoped that you would be understanding of your condition to make the right call and stay out of the mission, and I tried to reason with you so to avoid putting you in a spot where you would be offended or embarrassed in front of the crew…but now I see that I was wrong!!"

"You don't understand me at all…"

Brandon glared hard at Meia and replied evenly.

"You're right… I don't understand …I don't understand why someone of you're intelligence, skill and caliber would be willing to get herself killed to try and show that she is capable of. I don't know why you did what you did…and under normal circumstances I would have tried to understand you're reasons, motivation, and whatever happened to you in the past to make you do what you did."

He then clenched his fist and placed in front of Meia showing just barely restrained anger at her.

"But after you went down there against advice from both the medics and me, and endangered yourself, you're fellow pirates, and MY siblings. I at this stage of all this DO NOT care!! Understand one thing however…if you ever do something that reckless, foolish, and outright stupid again, and endanger yourself, you're fellow pirates, and MY siblings Meia Gisborn, then I will beat you to a bloody pulp myself!!"

With that, Brandon turned around and walked out of the hanger with barely restrained rage. Leaving the crew silent as they had never seen Brandon lose his anger before like that…the scene made even his face off with Meia before seem tame.

Scott and Lance followed their sibling since they knew that right now, they needed to help him cool his head. They understood why their brother was like that…none of the other women understood their past since despite their natures…they were still not willing to talk about their pasts with the crew.

Magno however had witnessed the entire exchange between Meia and Brandon…and as such she called Meia to the Conference Room.

--

Later…

"You asked to see me Captain?" Meia asked as she was in the Conference Room. She quickly had a suspicion that the reason why she was summoned to the Conference Room had to do with two things…one was the mission…and the other was the very powerful confrontation between her and Brandon Reinhart. Both were also connected since Duero and Dylan were also present.

"Yes…there is something that we must discuss of great importance."

Meia knew what would happen and so decided to try and defend herself.

"Captain, if this is about what happened on the mission and between me and Brandon, then I…"

"You are right Meia, this does have something to do with both situations." Magno then sighed after sitting down and looked at Meia square in the eye.

"I will not spend time whitewashing or trying to delay it, that is not in my nature Meia, and you and the others already know by now…this is a very difficult thing for me to speak of to you…due to you're years serving as the leader of the pirates' Dread Squadrons… but as the Captain of the ship, I have a responsibility to the safety and well being of the crew, and therefore have to make very important decisions."

She then faced Duero and Dylan.

"Doctors, what is you're opinion on this matter?"

Both the new healers of the Nirvana nodded and Duero spoke to Meia.

"Both Dylan and I are sorry to say this, but as the acting physicians of the Nirvana, both of us have to declare you psychologically unfit for any more ground missions that involve the Vanguards. Thus it is our duty, sad as it is to ground you from any Vanguard related missions."

Naturally Meia didn't take that very well.

"What nonsense are you talking about?!"

Meia said in anger as she glared at both Duero and Dylan.

"I happen to be the leader of all combat operations on this ship, you both have no authority on me or my position. What gives both of you the right to say what I can do or not?!"

"Both of them happen to be the doctors of this ship." Magno said with a stern expression and tone telling the young woman to sit down and listen to what they had to say.

Meia sat down but was adamant in speaking.

"You can't be seriously agreeing to this Captain! Both of them have no authority on this ship and they are just men!"

"It doesn't matter now whether they are men or not Meia, what matters is that I very much agree with their statements. I have already stated this once, and I will state it now to make it clear, I have already officially placed them as part of the crew of this ship, along with Brandon and his brothers until this voyage is over…both their observations, and Brandon's words in the bridge before has convinced me of something I have suspected about you for a very long time now."

"Don't tell me you believe that I have a condition that makes me unable to pilot a Vanguard, which is a lie! I am just suffering from fatigue!"

Dylan shook his head.

"You suffered increased heart rate, increased breathing to the point of hyperventilation, you were agitated, had high blood pressure, you were indecisive and when you were on that planet…you were in a state of catatonic shock. These symptoms were also present in you during the Vanguard training simulators. We did not mention it before due to the fact that this would not sit well with the crew. But due to what had happened, we now state that you have claustrophobia, this is a dangerous situation when in the confines of the Vanguard due to the fact that you cannot stand closed spaces and you froze in the Vanguard's cockpit."

"That's nothing but nonsense and I won't stand for it!" Meia replied. "I handle a Dread better than any of the other pilots in this ship! What makes you think I have trouble with a Vanguard?!"

"You're combat records in both the simulators and the real thing are proof of that fact Meia Gisborn." Duero answered. "You don't have the symptoms in a Dread due to the fact that unlike a Vanguard's cockpit, a Dread's is more spacious, thus you are more comfortable in a Dread."

"Both of them have very valid points Meia."

Magno said solemnly.

Meia was completely shocked.

"Captain…you can't be seriously agreeing with them…they…are…men!!"

"I know they are men Meia, but they happen to have more medical training and as far as I have seen in their treatment of you're fellow pirates, are very capable doctors. Magno replied firmly. "And they have brought up very valid points…along with Brandon's own arguments. You're fear of closed spaces had not only put you at risk, but you're fellow pirates as well. Brandon and his siblings stayed behind to save you're life as you recall. He was angry at you because he already knew about you're symptoms and tried to reason with us and you to keep you out of the mission, and you went down there anyway, and put the whole landing party at risk."

Meia fumed and glared once more at the men, but her anger was directed at Brandon most of all as she recalled how he rescued her and what happened afterwards, and now these doctors were telling her that she was not capable of piloting a Vanguard! These men had done nothing but make a mess of things! Why don't they mind their own business?! Things were a lot better off before they ever came on this ship and became part of the crew!

Magno noted Meia's reactions and replied.

"Meia, we are not here to turn against you, you are no doubt a great Dread pilot and a outstanding leader, none of us here contest that, we are doing this because we are concerned with you're well being and that of the crew. That is why you are still the commander of the Dread Squadrons and nothing will change that, however, we have agreed that you will not be part of anymore Vanguard operations should it happen again. Do you understand?"

Meia was silent as she listened to the words the Captain spoke of and then replied.

"I understand…I know I won't win this argument so that's all right by me. But this will be the only time we will be using the Vanguards."

Magno and Buzam looked at her and sighed. What they would say next would certainly not sit well with Meia.

"That is still up for debate Meia…but yes, we will not use the Vanguards…however we will be needing a ground team to do any needed planetary explorations…and as such…we are placing Brandon and his siblings to be in charge of such operations from now on, due to their skills in ground warfare and their Zoids. It is up to him and his brothers if they are willing to train others to accompany them on such missions or they go by themselves…due to their skills and team-work."

Meia looked at both women with shock once more.

"What did you say?! You're putting HIM and his siblings in charge of ground operations?!"

--

In the men's section…

"Captain…let me see if I get this right…you want me and my siblings to be in charge of any ground operations for the ship?!"

Brandon had managed to rein in his temper just a few minutes before, but now he was in shock at the blow handed to him and his brothers by the Captain.

"Yes…that's very much the long and short end of it. You will also have authority to train a small group of my crew to help you any operational requirements should you accept the job."

"Why us?" Brandon asked bluntly.

"You three are about the best pilots in ground operations, you specialize in various fields with you're Ligers and their respective CAS. But you specialize in close quarters combat, and area of skill none of my crew know about when it involves machines…even Barnette who is capable as a Vanguard pilot along with Jura don't have the training and overall experience you have…and you all care for others, I can find no other…women, no, let me change that, men for the job."

Brandon pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the Captain's image.

"Captain…I understand the situation and I see the need for such things, and I know how to lead a group, having been an officer. But are you absolutely sure that this will sit well with you're crew? Even if they already know we are not from Tarak, they still think that the rules of their…you're world towards men apply to us…what makes you so sure that they would follow our orders if we do decide to take the job?"

"They are a good crew…and are like my…daughters to me. They know that it needs to be done…but that will only happen if you are willing to train them in using Vanguards, though I suspect you're skills are more into Zoid Combat than Vanguard Combat."

Brandon thought about it and looked at his brothers, Scott nodded and spoke.

"We could certainly do a lot to help them out…I don't see why we can't, plus we do have quite a supply of other tools with us…I think it's time we put them into use."

"Lance?"

The younger brother nodded as well.

"Let's do that."

Brandon looked down in thought at his brother's decisions and replied.

"We'll take the job."

"Thank you."

--

A while later…

Brandon left his room and walked around a bit, after making the decision and laying down some ground rules for the ground squadron. He then chatted with the elderly woman and decided to apologize for his display of anger since he knew that it was not a help to their current situation and the fragile peace between the men and women. Magno accepted his apology and then told him that maybe…just for today he could do the same for Meia, at first he protested, but Magno told him that Meia had some history and that was why she was like that, and he agreed, though a bit reluctantly. He made his way to the Hanger and then spotted Meia brooding near her Dread. He would have been able to sneak to her…but decided to let her know he was in the area anyway.

Meia turned from her brooding and glared at Brandon.

"What do you want? Are you here to gloat on how much of a fool you made me look in front of the Captain?"

"No, I came here to think."

"Yeah right! You came here to gloat about you being assigned as the leader of the ground operations unit and I can't be part of it. You must be real happy now aren't you?"

Brandon sighed.

"Yeah, I was given the job and I accepted it, but I did not come here to gloat about it to you, nor did I come here to gloat abut making a fool of you. One I took the job because it is needed. And the second is that I never intended to make you a fool in front of anyone…doing that goes against everything my parents taught me."

He then faced Meia and spoke calmly.

"Regardless of this animosity, I know that in order for this voyage to be successful we have to work together, that includes me working with you Meia."

Meia glared.

"Let's get one thing straight! I don't want anything to do with you! I don't need anyone's help, namely from a man like you since you threatened me!"

"I see…I think that would be a loss…we did a good job defeating that Urchin like vessel when you're Dread combined with my Liger."

"What?!"

"Neither of us could win easily against that thing even if we tried, I know you did and so did I in my own way. And about that incident…I apologize."

"What?"

Meia was shocked at that, recalling the words Brandon had said in anger.

"My brothers chose to stay with me to help you. I know that I can trust them as they trust me…we had only each other to rely on for the past five years here in this universe before we ever boarded this ship and joined you're crew. But they know that I can rely on myself and I am very much an independent minded person, I have fought my own battles alone and the things I have accomplished by my own hands make me who I am…and they are just as the same as me. I lost my anger at you and no doubt put you in a bad light, and I apologize for that, you did not deserve to be treated like a fool."

He then walked away but turned and replied.

"However, I meant what I said earlier. But I will say this…you might not know it…but I do respect you Meia…not just as a pilot, but as a person and as a woman. I don't know how you would take this…but I find strong-minded and independent women to be very attractive."

As Brandon left, Meia was stunned at what he had just said…namely about her being…attractive! That came from a man…she should consider that comment as a lie!

But why then did she feel this slight warmth in her heart?

--

To be continued…

--

Author's Notes:

To all readers of ZoidDread, I apologize for the long delay in updates for the past few days. This is the current updates and I hope that you can wait for me to make more changes to this story. This will be interesting as things are going to be a bit different as we progress even further with the story. The mission that will be in this chapter will come up later so be patient as action will be heading your way soon.

Bye!

P.S

I have never done a Boy's Night Out myself, so I hope I get this right. Any suggestions? If so, you all know the drill, review, comment, or email.

--

Greetings…I am going to work in this story as I put GunDread SEED The Second Stage on hold for this length of time and work on this story until I made enough chapters.

If anyone is expecting a quick romance between Brandon and Meia, then I'm sorry, but that will not happen like that. I want both of them to butt heads and personalities until they learn to respect one another, and build on from there, that makes it more realistic and enjoyable.

Yes…Brandon was very angry…but do not forget that before they came into the Nirvana, he only had his siblings as his family for the past five years that they had been spending to look for their mother. And he promised his father that he would not only take care of himself, but his brothers and their mother a well, and all three of them have been looking for her for over five years.

And he is a man of his word, so it can be understood that he feels very hostile to people who would threaten them. He feels even more angry since he stayed behind to rescue Meia and his brothers stayed behind, he knew they promised the same thing to their dad as he did, but he is the eldest and they are his siblings and he put their lives in danger to save Meia…and it didn't have to come to that had she not tried to go to the surface of the planet.

The couple idea of them is not gone though…I still intend to follow through with pairing them together, but there will be some rather rough situations with both of them at first.

--

Hi there…Scott here…looks like we're all going to be squadron leaders now.

Yeah…you think the women would mind piloting those Zoids we have?

Maybe…they might take to them better than Vanguards Lance…the only thing now is to train them on how to pilot the Zoids in the first place!

Looks like we got our work cut out for us…then time to get to work!

Come on guys…we've got some ladies to train.

Scott and Lance: Coming Big Brother!

Next on ZoidDread…Chapter 6 Combat Training!

See you on the battle-field!!

--

As you can see…the Nirvana will now have it's own terrestrial strike force, being led by Brandon and his siblings…but they will not be Vanguards! As you would recall, Brandon and his brothers once possessed a Whale King transport Zoid that they used to travel and when it was now longer a viable transport, they moved what they could to a section of the Ikazuchi…which is now part of the Nirvana.

You're all about to see some other Zoids in action!! And these will be piloted by the women!!

On the next chapter…it will be a filler to show how the women will do once they learn that they will be piloting not Vanguards…but Zoids. How will they do I wonder?

--


	7. Combat Training

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: I hereby state that Zoids and VanDread don't belong to me, I am merely using them to tell a story.

( ): Thoughts

(" "): Organoid language

Chapter 6

Combat Training

--

A few days later…

The Nirvana was moving along on the stars, heading back to the home system where the male planet of Tarak and female planet of Megele were found. The vast majority of the Nirvana's crew were all female pirates…while a small group comprised of men, three from the planet f Tarak, but three other men from another dimension. The three men had already thrown a good number of loops on the women, namely when it was learned that they were very good cooks.

Now however, the women or rather a group of them would be under the command of the men in question should a ground operation be called upon to handle the missions that deal with terrestrial operations for the pirates. Naturally the idea of them being under the authority of men certainly didn't suit well with the women and now they were being assembled in a massive meeting hall on the still unexplored sections of the colony ship section.

They chatted and for the time being tried to forget how demeaning it would feel to be commanded by the men, even if the men in question were not from Tarak…all men were the same to them.

At least they were…

Dita walked up to her fellow women and listened to them while they were chatting. The redhead could tell from the mixture of uniforms, the women were from various groups on the pirates crew roster, some were from the security forces, others were from the Register, some were even from the Dread Squadrons. They were selected by both Magno, Gascogne, and Buzam, along with Brandon and his siblings to be the ground operations unit of the Nirvana.

After the disaster that happened a few days before, the pirate officers were pleased that Brandon and his brothers chose to be overall ground operation commanders of the pirates. The facts were that the three had far more combat experience on ground warfare and were every much capable leaders in their own right, plus they were willing to lead the pirates despite the dislike the women would have for them…being men. However they had asked for a few rules and the most surprising of all was the fact that they would not be using Vanguards. The officers wondered about that but since the three were very serious about their task, the older women nodded and allowed them to do as they wished for their ground forces' training.

Currently the three brothers were in the Conference Room chatting with the pirate officers as the Nirvana was moving over a nearby planet.

--

Conference Room…

"According to the scans there are no signs of human habitation on the planet, not even the seismic scans have picked up any underground facilities or hidden places…hard to imagine that such a planet that can be inhabited have no forms of human civilization." BC reported as the group gazed on the view-screen on a planet they had uncovered recently.

"Anything else?"

"The planet's climate is temperate and has a few other climate and environmental types, namely plain, arctic, and desert. Rivers and oceans are present as well. There will be large amounts of plant and animal life, and the atmosphere is a mix of gases similar to that of Earth, so it can be able to support life...strange it was never colonized."

Brandon nodded along with his siblings as they looked at the planet…it reminded them of Zi, their home-world very well, and it was ideal for what they had in mind.

"That planet will do just fine Captain, we'll have the training there." Lance spoke out.

"Now?"

"Yes…better we get to the training phase and use what time we have to do it." Brandon said calmly.

Gascogne then looked at all three brothers and asked a question.

"How long will it take for you to train them? You do realize that we are somewhat pressed for time."

"We'll try and see how well they do for a few days, maybe a week or two, if they do well…then we'll expand the training to improve their skills. Normally we would need months or a year or more since Zoids don't exist in this dimension, and none of you're crew have any combat experience…so we will do what we can and hope it will be enough." Scott replied as he was checking on a computer to evaluate the time constraints.

The pirate officers thought about it and realized that they could do little but allow the brothers to do what they could with the time given to them.

Magno then got up and smiled at the three brothers.

"Ready to meet you're trainees?"

Both brothers merely smiled and got up as Magno was accompanied by Buzam, and Gascogne.

--

In the section…

As the officers arrived, the females gathered in the area were directing their attention on them, not just because their Captain was among them along with the Commander and Supply Head…but their squadron Commanders.

Dita, who was now joined by Jura, Meia, and Barnette were nearby to watch the event. The redhead wanted to greet Mr. Alien and his brothers but decided against the idea since the Captain was there right now…and this was an important situation.

Magno smiled and looked at the assembled women. She calmed them down before they could complain with a gesture of silence.

"I know that many of you do not wish this to be happening, namely that you will be under the command of Brandon Reinhart and his siblings…because they are men. But they are now part of this crew, and have proven themselves to be very much qualified to lead you all as leaders of ground combat operations for this ship. As you're Captain, I am requesting that you follow their orders as if they were my own and this is for the betterment of us all as we journey back to Megele and Tarak. They are not from here, yet they are willing to help us in our journey, and this is the way they will help us make it through."

She then turned and faced Brandon and his brothers.

"The floor is yours."

As the brothers and the officers moved aside, the women then asked them sullenly and with resentment one very important question...at least in their minds.

"Do we get to paint the Vanguards we're going to pilot?"

The brothers looked at them with a curious eye…that is…a fake curious eye since they had intended for them to be brought here instead of the Vanguard Hanger since they had a surprise…one of the requests they had made to the Captain and her officers…who were right about one thing…they specialized in Zoid combat…so if they were going to be the leaders of a ground team…why not use the machines THEY were familiar with.

Brandon took this situation as their cue. He nodded to Lance and Scott to moved to a set of control panels.

"What do you mean?"

The women groaned and one of them…one of the security personnel named Mia Shani, a brunette with long hair and blue eyes spoke first. She was not in the mood for this and resented the idea of being under the command of men.

"What do we mean?! Do we get to color those drab and ugly Vanguards you're going to assign to us so they can at least look nice?!"

Brandon laughed a bit…making the women growl and wonder if he was mocking them, just to throw his weight around.

Barnette thought the same and was about to throw in her two cents, but both Jura and Meia stopped her, just in case she caused a disturbance.

As soon as he stopped and smiled…Brandon threw a bombshell at the assembled cadets.

"Who said you were going to be piloting Vanguards? My brothers and I don't pilot them, so why would we ask you to pilot them anyway?"

The women were stunned and somewhat wary. They didn't know just what Brandon was driving at, what sort of machines would they be piloting then? If not Dreads or Vanguards.

"So what are we supposed to pilot then?"

"Now that is the question I wanted to hear."

Brandon them turned to his brothers who appeared to have finished their work on the computer monitors, and he signaled them to open a nearby door, a door wide enough to allow tow lines of people to walk through. Brandon then directed the women to form into two lines and then when that was over, the eldest brother then led them into the room of the unexplored section.

Scott and Lance then spoke to the remaining women, namely the four Dread pilots, the Captain, BC, and Gascogne.

"Care to join us?"

The women looked at one another and shrugged, though they were intrigued…just what kind of machines did Brandon and his siblings have in mind for the newly formed ground force to use if not Vanguards…it certainly could not be their own machines since the sentient Liger ZERO Zoids would not respond to anyone else except the three Zoid pilots.

As soon as they entered the room behind Scott and Lance, they found themselves on the rails of a large hanger…big enough to house quite a number of machines like their Dreads though they could only see the groups of women and the brothers as the railing was the only lighted area of the large hanger. They spotted Brandon turn and hold a control box in his hand.

"These will be what you will be piloting for the ground missions." The eldest brother said as he turned on the lights to the rest of the still darkened room…revealing a massive number of machines that were unlike t\anything the women had ever seen before!

There was a myriad of various machines.

One type looked like a massive feline machine that was sleek, powerfully muscular, and deadly looking…and with impressive metallic teeth and claws, there were two large forward teeth on the sides of the mouth…making the machine look like a saber toothed cat from the stories they heard about earth's history. The machines was very impressive looking and it had an array of powerful looking cannons.

Another was also feline like in design…but was aerodynamically designed for speed and raw acceleration. The design seemed to be like that of the high speed land animal known back on Earth as a cheetah, it had powerful legs, a strong speed and rapid attack profile…on the back of each unit was a powerful engine system with two fins and a pair of deadly looking forward facing beam cannons.

Another feline design was the same as that of the Liger ZERO Zoids though only to some degrees as it seemed to be designed like a lion and seemed to be armed with effective but smaller and lighter weapons, along with it's teeth and claws.

Yet another feline design mirrored the Liger ZERO Zoids of the Reinhart siblings, but unlike the first seemed to be designed for close and medium range battles, it seemed to have a pair of folded energy emitting blades that had some similarities to the Strike Laser Claw systems on Zarreke, Rikera, and Kail. It also had cannons on it as well.

The next was more lupine in design, like a large wolf and it had several different types of the machines. It had large generators and boosters on the legs and back along with some rater powerful though light to medium class cannons. It seemed to follow the wolf design very well and seemed to be very capable either alone or in packs like real wolves.

Brandon grinned at the looks of shock and awe the women gave the Zoid units and then spoke out pointing to each Zoid Class.

"These are Zoids from our world…unlike the Zoids we pilot, they can be piloted by anyone with the right training and skills, and they are able to travel in space due to them having the same gravity actuator field generator systems installed in our own Zoids."

He then showed images of the Zoid types to a nearby screen…starting with the saber tooth tiger form.

"This one is from the Guylos Empire, known as the Saber Fang. This unit us designed for powerful close range combat and long range as well due to it's combat design. It is fast and very deadly in the right hands. You can remove some of the basic weapons and install new ones on the Saber Fang if you wish, but we don't recommend you burden it too much."

He then showed the cheetah type Zoid…

"The next one is a high speed attack unit also developed from the Guylos Empire…the Lightning Saix, it's Ion engine system and hologram technology make it a deadly and powerful high speed attacker, in the right hands, this unit will prove to be a very deadly foe…however only those with high tolerance to g-forces get to use this Zoid."

He then showed the Lion type Zoid.

"This is similar to our Zoids but is designed for close to medium range combat and defense. The Shield Liger, which was designed by the Helic Republic, is armed with energy shield emitters that can deflect solid or beam type attacks, though not those of a very high caliber and grade. The Shield Liger is basic, but is strong enough to survive"

The next design came on the screen.

"This is the Blade Liger version…it was designed following the blue-prints of a hero of our world's own Zoid. It is armed with a set energy emitting blades that are folded to the sided and can be released to spread out on the sides to slice apart a target, or positioned forward to stab a target in the chest. It's cannons will provide it with defensive and offensive ranged firepower. And both Shield and Blade Ligers have cannons installed in the tails.

The next and last design was the Wolf version.

"This is also from the Helic Republic and is known as the Command Wolf, it is a good Zoid alone, but works better in packs…like a real wolf pack would. There are three variants, the first is the basic Command Wolf, the next is the AC version and the last is the Desert version. The AC is armed with a single more powerful cannon though it is slightly bulky and the Desert is designed for better operations in desert areas."

Brandon then smiled as turned off the screen and directed the group to the descending elevator.

"Now then…pick you're Zoids and get ready for you're training. We're going to the planet below us to start you're training regime."

The women…who had expected themselves to be piloting drab and ugly Vanguards were looking with awe at the possibilities of what to do with their Zoids once they picked them.

Magno, Buzam, and Gascogne were surprised greatly at the sight.

Dita was smiling like a cat, complete with starry eyed expressions and cat ears as she saw more alien machines!!

Meia had to admit that these units…were impressive…better than the Vanguards were.

Jura and Barnette were in the same boat as both friends were looking at a pair of Saber Fangs.

Brandon and his siblings looked at the women as they ran up to look at the Zoids they would be piloting, they couldn't help but smile at the looks the women have. There were some other Zoid types that they had also stored, but for now, they would have to use these Zoids for their training in order to make sure that they got enough training to handle the other possible to use Zoid Types, namely the more dangerous and deadly versions.

All of them had been trained as officers and as pilots, just like their mother was, and they knew their general skills, along with their specialties, and each others as well…this made them a versatile strike team in most terms, now it was time to train the women pirates just how to pilot their new weapons effectively and with few mistakes…though their time-table would be short and options were limited, they were going to use whatever time they had to get this just right.

As soon as the women made their choices, the men gave them orders to get enough supplies, clothing and tools, and whatever they will be needing since they will be going into boot camp in the next few hours. As the groups of women left the hanger, Brandon ran through his checklist to see if they had all the gear needed for the training, he had planned this for a few days and although they were dealing with only bare essentials, he liked to have all his options available.

That was when he noted the interest being shown by Meia to one the Lightning Saix Zoids. He liked the Lightning Saix himself and had piloted one before…but he preferred his Liger all the same, and with his custom made Jaeger CAS, he knew his Ultimate X Liger would be able to go toe to toe with the Lightning Saix Zoid in a speed duel.

"Care to take a more close inspection of the Lightning Saix Meia?"

Meia broke her look from the cheetah type Zoid and shook her head.

"No…I prefer my Dread."

Brandon saw that Meia was still by heart a Dread pilot and shrugged his shoulders as he ran through the checklist once more, an consulted with Scott on what they would need to when they got to the surface, namely on food, supplies, equipment, power supply, and shelter. That meant getting what they could from both the Nirvana and their own supplies and equipment.

Unlike Meia however, Dita was very interested about all the Zoids and naturally since Lance was not rather busy as of the moment she decided to come to him in her usual fashion.

"Mr. Alien!"

Lance barely had enough time to turn as she glomped onto him and hugged him tight, further embarrassing the youngest of the Reinhart siblings, it had been hard enough to deal with the fact that he and his brothers were on a ship literally overflowing with gorgeous females in various attire, it was even harder for him to be on the receiving end of the overt curiosity of one of them, namely this bubbly redhead who was very much the type most guys back on Zi would had drooled over. Normally Lance would not mind too much about the actions of Dita, but they did tend to embarrass him a great deal.

"What is it?!"

Dita smiled and asked Lance the question she had in her mind about the Zoids.

"Can you tell me what you know about those alien machines? Please?!" The redhead said as she released Lance and gave the sad puppy dog eye treatment to the youngest Zoid pilot.

"Okay, okay…" Lance said as he tried not to laugh at the utterly cute look Dita gave him. He then pointed to each Zoid and looked at Dita's rapt expression.

"Which Zoid do you want to know about?"

Dita looked at all the Zoid typed and then pointed to the Lightning Saix models.

"Can you tell me anything about that alien machine, please?"

Lance nodded as he began to explain the history of the Lightning Saix.

"The Lightning Six is a second generation Zoid that was built a few years after the end of the Republic Empire war back on Zi for the Guylos Empire. The first working model of the Lightning Saix was made by the famed scientist Doctor D who used and ancient Zoidian data template to help combat the Geno-Breaker, a powerful and dangerous Zoid piloted at the time by a rogue Zoid pilot named Raven, The prototype was a very high performance machine the first test pilot lost consciousness and the prototype was saved before it slammed into a rock face, despite the limiters to it's combat systems. The sad part was that it's data drive had bee corrupted."

"It was only when Irvine, a mercenary pilot who fought alongside the Guardian Force, a task-force made by both sides to prevent another war, lost his Command Wolf and allowed the combat data of his destroyed Zoid to be installed into the Lightning Saix model…and he became the best pilot to handle the Lightning Saix. The sad part was that the one Irvine had was the only model for a while since Raven had destroyed the factory capable of producing more Lightning Saix units, and it's only after a few decades when the Lightning Saix would be mass produced. The Lightning Saix is designed to use it's ion engine boosters, acceleration, and hologram projector technology to confuse and disrupt any scanning attempt and outrun other Zoids with ease, with the exception of the Liger ZERO with the Jaeger CAS my brother pilots, and also some other Zoids, it does have a vulnerability to attacks from the sides and can't turn quickly at high speeds, so it is designed for quick strike and fade assaults."

"Wow…what about that one?" Dita asked…pointing to the Blade Ligers. Lance smiled as he saw the Zoids that were pointed at by the redhead…after all…before his Organoid Kail fused with it…he piloted the Blade Liger in his Academy days.

But before he could make any comments…Brandon called his attention.

"Hey little brother! We need to get the gear organized, grab a Godos and both you and Scott get the stuff ready!"

Lance nodded and looked at the redhead.

"I'll chat with you some other time. I've got work to do right now."

"Okay…have fun Mr. Alien!"

Both the middle and youngest Reinhart siblings got to work as they went to a nearby paddock to grab the Zoids and waited for Brandon to both open the other side of their sections of the ship and get their gear ready for transport, and the list was handed to them to know what gear they would have to be using in order to get their training on the ropes.

In the five years they had been wandering this galaxy and dimension, they had met various civilizations of humans, and even other…alien ones. And they had been able to gain quite a great deal of knowledge and equipment. At times…in order to buy supplies, the brothers loaned their services to the right sides as mercenaries, they didn't like it too much, but their duties paid well and they were able to buy a lot of needed supplies, tools, equipment, and more, they also forged some good alliances and those helped on more than one occasion before they went on to find their mother in this vast galaxy and dimension.

These supplies, equipment, and resources would now be used in training what in their minds would be the first ever Zoid Force on this dimension.

--

Later…

The women were now back and had brought quite an amount of materials…many of which raised the eye-brows of all three siblings. They noted that since the women took feminine nature to a high degree in their world, there was the big possibility that they would have brought more than was both needed and necessary…and since they were going to the surface of the planet, the men were only concerned about the needs and necessities…they planned to deal with those details once they were on the surface and not before…the one thing they did not need, was a rebellious squadron that gave them too much trouble…unlike the female Zoid pilots that they knew off, the women of Megele were not familiar with Zoids…so they would have to learn quickly and wasting time on too many frivolities was one thing the three brothers were not in the mood for.

As the women waited, the brothers then began to explain what they had to do, with Brandon going first.

"All right, listen up…The Zoids you each have selected have in the cockpits, containment lockers to store you're gear, make no mistake however that it is only for the bare necessities and basic needs. Anything that is not needed and is only excess baggage, we urge you to leave them behind. Also…you will NOT be ferried there via shuttle…you're going to be riding you're Zoids down to the ground to where we will be having the training for you all to be the Nirvana's ground operations unit. As such…you will have to get used to traveling from the ship all the way to the planet should we be needed to do the ground operations. Is that understood?"

The women replied that they would bring what they could, and in the way they did it, it made the brothers realize that this was going to be one of those days. Scott took to the floor and pointed to their Zoids.

"These Zoids will be you're partners in the training, though you will be assigned to groups and then to squadrons. Thus every one of you will need to be responsible for every aspect of you're respective Zoid, from repairs, upgrades, maintenance, re-arming, re-fueling, customization…the works. Make no mistake that these Zoids are among the first of their kind in this universe, thus they are not easy to replace. Since this section of the Nirvana is the only place where the Zoids can be repaired…or if it comes to it, rebuilt…then make sure not to waste their abilities."

Lance then took over, and spoke to them.

"Once we get to the surface of the planet, you will be given the schedule of activities and you're quarters…make no mistake of this ladies…on our world, there are talented female Zoid pilots…but since Zoids are not native to you're world or anywhere else in this galaxy for that matter, you all will need to learn how to pilot them from scratch. This training will be hard, it will be difficult…and you will have to show you're determination, guts, physical ability, mental aptitude, and desire to learn. Just because you are female, does not mean I nor my brothers will take it easy on you…and remember this last bit of advice as well…there is no such thing as fair in real war…you're enemies…those aliens we can call the Harvesters due to their agenda, don't play by anyone's rule book, namely yours when they fight, but their own… this means that any tactic goes, no matter how underhanded it might be when you face them…we can't say that WE know their methods as we have never met them before…but it pays to be prepared for any eventuality. Now get to you're Zoids, stow away you're gear and our Ligers will escort you to the planet's surface. We will contact you on how maneuver you're Zoids in Space once all of you are now deployed."

The women wasted no time and rushed to their Zoids…eager to see just what the beast mecha can do in their hands…some of them saw the controls to be somewhat similar to the Dreads and thought that they could do better…but they were about to get a serious wake-up call soon. The brothers then explained to them how to move their Zoids in space via the use of the installed gravity actuator field generator systems. The women cadets followed the orders and when the Organoid controlled Liger ZERO Zoids led them out of the ship via the modified Launching Bay, there quite a number of them expecting that they would float away.

The gravity actuator systems however drowned out that idea as their Zoids moved in space with little trouble and the women began to move their Zoids and before they could try and run about, the brothers came out in the Godos Zoids, and the Godos were dragging out massive containers filled with a large number of supplies and equipment for the training of the new Zoid pilots. The stuff they had stored was more than sufficient as they moved the containers about.

"All right…now you all follow our Zoids to the ground location and then we can get down to what we need to do today. Once we get on the ground…don't wander around and get lost while we set up the base camp…this planet might look pretty, but this is not Megele, and we don't know the kind of life-forms that can be found there… are we clear?"

Brandon asked as he called all the female pirates assigned for ground operations training.

The pirates nodded and while still not very happy and resented the idea of being under the command of men, even if they were very much radically different from the men they were trained and taught at birth to despise, they were eager to see just how they would do using their selected Zoids in combat.

The Zoids were able to run towards the planet with the Liger ZERO Zoids in the lead…the Zoids of the chosen pirates in the middle, while the three Reinhart siblings were on the Godos, moving the massive containers and when they were close enough to the planet…allowed the planet's gravity well to drag the containers down. The containers were highly durable and impact resistant, along with the fact that they were designed for atmospheric deployment due to the increased heat shielding installed into them.

--

In the Nirvana…at one of the observation decks…

"I hope Mr. Alien will be fine down there, along with the other Mr. Aliens." Dita chirped out as she looked at the now descending Zoid units. The Dread pilot hoped that her Mr. Alien would be fine and she also hoped to get a change to go down there and see how he was doing along with his siblings first hand.

Alongside her were the other Dread pilots, namely Jura, Barnette, Meia, and the head of the Register, Gascogne…all of the women wondered on just how successful the training for their fellow women with Zoids will be with the Reinharts at the helm of the training exercises.

"Do you think they'll be all right?" Jura asked.

Barnette merely snorted.

"The others will be fine, the three men are the ones that should be concerned, I wonder if they know how to even lead others in a fight."

Gascogne sighed…ever since the integration f the men into the crew by order of the Captain, a lot of women showed a dislike for them, but Barnette seemed the harsher one compared to the others, namely towards the Reinhart siblings, especially Scott, the head of the Register had a suspicion that it had something to do with the fact that the three brothers were different and showed much greater talent, namely in cooking, but it was Jura's fixation on Scott that seemed to get Barnette rather agitated, though why was beyond the Register head's understanding, surely such a connection would be very difficult to begin with since Jura was still not used to having the men around herself, despite being interested in fusing her Dread to Scott's Ultimate X Zoid Rikera.

"The three of them have worked side by side with one another for five years before they ever joined up with us Barnette, not to mention the fact that they are very familiar with Zoids so there's no doubt in my mind anyway that they will do fine."

Gascogne replied.

"Yeah, yeah…I just hope they don't get it into their heads that since they are part of the crew, doesn't mean that we're going to be forgiving if they do something in-appropriate to any of us here, if they do…then Grandma help us."

The green haired girl replied…that was also when Gascogne noted the pointed look she gave Jura…

(Is it just my imagination…or is Barnette jealous of the time Scott spends with Jura?)

--

Later…on the ground…in mid-day…

Brandon and his siblings were busy working on setting up their base…it had been nearly two hours since they had landed on the planet for basic terrestrial combat training with Zoids and the pirate women, and now they were not in the best of moods at this point.

They had picked a very solid location for the training of the women, a large valley with mountains and woodlands nearby and the site of their boot camp was near a massive river and water falls, good amounts of animal and plant life were seen and later…once the camp was set up, they would see what was edible on this surface to complement the rations and food supplies they had on hand. Near them was the desert, a good distance away that would serve well as a desert training area for the women to learn Zoid desert warfare tactics, the forests would be perfect in training them on how to operate in closed areas, and the mountains would certainly help train them in high altitude warfare, plus the winding canyons would be good for testing their abilities in piloting Zoids, and then the open fields...would be great for just as many activities.

However it was a chore to keep the women from wandering off and getting lost…once they had arrived, the women complained about having some pains in their stomach, which the brothers explained was gravity sickness, they had suffered that in their five years of landing their Zoids on a planet and then lifting off again, it took some time to get used to and that was one of the things the women would have to learn to deal with…that is if they would stay put.

The planet was beautiful, but since it was a new planet, there would be hidden dangers nearby and the last thing the brothers needed were lost and injured cadets…so as they set up the base, the Ligers under the command of their Organoid cores kept on patrol…all three using their CAS Armor.

The components of the building were made from prefabricated sections and parts…allowing for manageable assembly and disassembly, this included living quarters with ports for air-conditioning, water, electricity, and utilities, a mess hall for dining, communications bunker, a gym, general stores…and an armory for both pilots and Zoids. They had brought about six massive containers housing the supplies, including munitions, food, water, equipment, tools, and more. The first was to establish the frame-work of the base structures…and then installing the power lines, water, and more. They had massive Solar energy converters and battery reactors, which would be helpful in maintaining the base's operation capacity.

As soon as they were done with basic structures, the installation of all the functions was about to start. This would include the women working real hard today in helping them set up base camp…after all, three men couldn't do all that by themselves.

The women were busy enjoying the cool air coming from the mountains but were not happy that they were not allowed to explore the rest of the valley as they wanted to…even more so since the three massive sentient Zoids in the CAS Armor stood guard over them all. That however was about to change when their commanders called their attention.

"All right then…now that we've got the basic frames in…it's time to finish the rest of the base…grab the nearby tools and change into those coveralls ladies…it's time to get dirty."

"WHAT?!"

One of the things the women despised more than anything was to get dirty, and they naturally complained as the brothers went to work once more. They however decided to deliver them a choice as Brandon spoke calmly at them all.

"Look…this is already you're training, if any of you are Dread pilots, then you will know how important it is to customize and manage your own machines…this will also apply to you're Zoids, besides that…if we don't get this done tonight…we're not going to get started with you're real combat training. You can follow the order and help us set up the base…or we'll be having no sleeping quarters tonight. Plus…we'll have you all replaced."

Faced with the possibility of no shelter and beds for the night and no food, the women grumbled and would have considered mutiny against the siblings but they had no choice since they would be disappointing Magno…and that was the only reason they were doing this, respect for the Captain…however, they also realized that for the first time, they had this desire, no matter how small it was to show these three brothers up. They wanted to see just what the Zoids were capable of doing to prove that although the Zoids were not native to their universe, they would show that the women of their world can do better than men. They all got into the coveralls and got the tools and utilities given to them and got to work.

The brothers knew that by Megele standards, the women would have already rebelled, but they were able to sense the change in them…the women were fired up after they were goaded by them. By normal senses, such actions went against military protocol and that also went against what they themselves learned, but in this case, it worked.

The first reason they stuck with the Saber Tigers, Command Wolves, Shield and Blade Ligers, and the Lightning Saix instead of some of the more powerful Zoids in their arsenals…namely a number of Gojulas, Dark Horns, Dibison, Iron Kong and several other models was that the ground team had to be fast and flexible, they also had to be well armed and able to even up the odds in a fire fight on the ground, though the more massive Zoids were perfect in fire support roles.

The next reason was the fact that they all would be fighting not just on planets, but in space as well, if the Nirvana was suddenly attacked and needed support for it and the Dread Squadrons, then the faster Zoids could make it to the battle and if needed, fight in space, but that would leave the larger Zoids at a speed disadvantage in the sense of moving from the planet to space, even with the gravity field generators. The only time the larger and more powerful Zoids would be used was if the need was great…they could only train a small strike team, considering the fact that the pirate crew numbered only 150 and if they took out more pilots to use the much larger Zoids, then it would leave the ship short handed in situations when every pilot counted. However, the three made sure that every Zoid in their arsenal would be used to their full potential and not be left behind.

For now however, they had a special plan for the completion of the base once the ladies were done.

--

Hours later…nearing night time…

As soon as the women were done with the work, they trooped into the showers that they also helped install…complete with water recycling systems and temperature regulation systems…and the water was gained directly from the river and water fall. They never realized how good it felt to take a shower and took this time to properly clean the dirt, oil, and sweat. As soon as they were done they got to their rooms and dressed, with the their leaders namely Mia Shani, a blonde with brown eyes named Kara Edel, and a raven haired, blue eyed woman named Rin Kamia, the three became more like the ring leaders of the female group, Mia had chosen to use a Blade Liger, Kara took a Lightning Saix, and Rin had taken to the Saber Tiger. They decided to talk to the men and tell them straight that if they ever tried something like that on them again, then they were going to walk out.

However, when they got to the hall where they were supposed to meet up with the three siblings and complain, they were surprised to see a large table filled with food!

There were platters of cooked fish, meat, vegetables, bread, fruits, noodles, soup, pastries, and even a large roast in the nearby fire-pit, various dishes were also present, nearby were their drinks, of water, juice, and tea. The brothers had also set up tables and there were utensils for them to use.

Brandon and his brothers were nearly finished and then looked at the women.

"Well? What are you all standing there for? Dig in and after dinner, we get to the training outline. This is for the hard work you ladies put into the camp, and once you're done…we'll outline what you all will be doing in the next few weeks…or longer if we have the time."

The women needed no further encouragement and grabbed the plates and utensils, they at first took only small bites to see if the food was cooked right or the three brothers had the food catered from the Nirvana…but the brothers assured them that they had cooked the food when the women were working, in order to reward them for their hard work. And since the food and drinks were very good the women were happy and spent the time to rest and eat up.

Later…

As they cleared up the dishes, the brothers had the dishes placed aside and handed them to a pair of cleaning robots that they had gained from one of their travels…as the robots cleaned up the collected dishes, the brothers called the women to seat together as they would be outlining the training program for the next few weeks or more.

Brandon began first.

"The first few weeks will be dedicated to physical training and improvement. This will include, strength, stamina, reflexes, senses, speed…the whole ten yards, so expect very serious physical training, along with obstacle courses, hand to hand combat, melee combat, running, weight lifting, and more. Now the reason for this is to build you all up physically, in the sense that you will need to by physically fit to handle the rigors placed on you're bodies in both training and combat with Zoids. How many of you have selected the Lightning Saix Zoid?"

After several hands were raised, he nodded and told them a shorter version of the Lightning Saix' production debut and what it was capable of doing when in the hands of good pilots, and the danger of losing consciousness due to the g-forces given by the cheetah type Zoid to it's pilots at full speed.

"Even if the Zoid is now less likely to do that due to the increase to it's safety systems, it is still needed for you all to take the needed training in order to bring out your combat potential and skill and to combine it with the Lightning Saix' power. That is why most of the Lightning Saix Zoids will be armed with special medical scanners to we can keep track of you're situations during training."

"Of course it won't be merely physical training and conditioning alone that will help you pilot the Zoids, you will need to learn combat tactics with them, how move in unison, formations, fire team attacks, bombardment tactics, hit and run tactics, sniper work, mobile ranged combat…all the skills needed to pilot Zoids."

Scott then took over.

"Keep in mind that the three of us, me and my brothers have been piloting Zoids for years…long before we ever joined up with you all on the Nirvana, and as you all know…Zoids are not native anywhere in this universe. Thus we are the only Zoid experts on hand, don't try to customize you're Zoids until you have run your own tests and consulted us and allow us to run tests on it also…otherwise the Zoid and you will suffer both in training and combat. Do not hesitate to come to any of us with question pertaining to Zoid piloting, maintenance, and customization."

Lance then spoke to finish off the meeting with their squadron.

"The training will begin at exactly 0430 hours in the morning so get enough sleep, once we're done we get to basic exercises, and then have breakfast. Do not be late…ever, you can only back out from the training for the right reason, we don't accept lame excuses, only legitimate ones. This is a totally new world you ladies have just walked into, follow the rules and our orders, and you'll do fine. Is that clear?"

The silence was a bit deafening until Brandon spoke evenly.

"I didn't hear your answer to my youngest brother's question, is that clear ladies?"

"Yes sir!" The women replied with considerable reluctance…showing that they still didn't like taking orders from men.

As the pirates left for their sleeping quarters, the brothers then began to plan out the days' activities and make some special ones.

--

The next day…

The women were still sleeping when sirens were heard all over the base…and it was loud enough to wake them and disorient them, and thankfully they managed to regain enough wits to wear their clothes, though this meant only their body suits, and as they rushed out of the sleeping quarters, as soon as they got out into a open area of the field of their base, out came strong but not blinding flood lights, making the women shriek a bit, and when their eyes adjusted, there were Brandon, Scott, and Lance, all in sleeveless tank tops, running pants and shoes, all three of them looking very sternly at them,

"What are you going to do now?!"

The women asked as they tried to get adjusted still to what had happened just a few minutes earlier.

The three brothers merely replied.

"We're starting you're training, get into lines of three and get ready to jog, we keep this up until 0630 hours, break-fast is already cooked and will be still hot once we get back to base. After that, at 7:30, we get down to the other physical exercises."

"Can't we eat now?!"

"Nope, you'll need to develop a tolerance to hunger too…in ground operations it's not always a good idea t eat until you are certain that you can do so in relative safety…the last thing any ground soldier would like is to be attacked by their enemies during eating time…plus this will wake you up quickly, and there's a cool wind from the mountains and forest, so you'll feel fine, but be prepared to sweat."

The entire group jogged around the base and as the brothers predicted, the cool mountain/forest air was refreshing and invigorating, but it did little to ease the sounds of hunger they heard from their female trainees, along with pants, grunts, and Megele based curses…apparently the women were not used to this kind of training in most if not all senses…but the brothers had done this before…many years ago and were rather comfortable with it and the exhaustion and exertion, but the women…well…they are going to need a lot of work.

Next to the running group were Zarreke, Kail, an Rikera as the Organoid fused and converted Liger ZERO Zoids walked to escort them around, they were act as sentries t ensure that the training group didn't suddenly get attacked by anything on this planet.

As they soon returned to the base, the three brothers breathed easy as they let the fatigue burn off a bit, but since they had been into this regime for nearly all their military days, they were very ready to do the next round, but they turned and saw the women who were sweating like mad and were panting and wheezing. Some flopped to the ground and lay there, others at on the ground and tried to breath, the rest also sat down as the brothers could tell that both their legs and bodies burned from exhaustion and lactic acid build up. They knew that right now would be a good time for them to bleed out their fatigue so they let the women rest a bit, but told them to stretch their limbs. The women complained as to how the men seemed to at peace with this pace…and the brothers replied that they had been doing this for nearly ten years so they very comfortable with it, and it helped them keep their combat edge with their Ligers.

The women could only moan as they rested for a few more minutes but then had to get up as the brothers told them to head into the mess hall grab some food and drink. Despite the fact that they smelled from sweating, the cool air kept the scent at bay and the call of hunger was far more convincing than their smell at this point.

The food was pancakes with berries, ham, bacon, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, slices of fruit, hot bread and sausages, with extra bread, butter and cheese, the smell of the food, along with the introduced cool air from the outside was enough to drive the women to forget their discomfort as they grabbed their plates and went down to the eating…as the brothers also sat down and ate their own break-fast nearby. The women were not too exhausted to eat as they did their best to pack it in, though they still watched what they ate and in how much since they wanted to watch their figures…not that the men minded it…considering their cultural upbringing.

As soon as they were all done, they told the women to take a short break and clean up since later it would be classes on Zoid maneuvers and tactics, along with basic piloting skills and more, once that was done, they would continue their training regime until lunch time and then after that…it was time for practical field work, along with knowing their Zoid's strengths and weaknesses, and the methods on maintenance, upgrading and customization.

The brothers would gauge the level of the women pilots in the afternoon in the field exams and then train them hard until they were able to handle the load.

The women thought that after the two hour jog, things would be a bit more bearable…

Boy, were they wrong.

--

The Nirvana…

Buzam looked at the incoming video feed from Scott as they saw Brandon and Lance begin lectures on the basics of using Zoids in combat in their training hall. The stern and focused looks the eldest and youngest brother showed their commitment to their work as the women who tried to cause some disturbance were quickly marked for serious attention on the PTC sessions later after classes.

"How is the training going?"

Scott shrugged.

"They do have some potential Captain, but it's going to be quite a bit before they come even close to the standards of basic cadets. But as long as they are willing to follow orders, they'll be just fine, as long as they give their best, then it will do…however in order to avoid what happened to Meia Gisborn, Brandon and I will do an intensive review of the chosen pilots, so we'll see where they will be assigned to in the ground squadron…as it is…we'll need their files if you have them."

"Done…we'll be sending the files down soon."

"Thanks."

Both pirates then looked at one another as Buzam shook her head.

"I have to admit, Brandon and his siblings are certainly strict and very intense in their duties as leaders."

"I know…you can tell that they are very serious about their duties in this matter, they maybe harsh in some of their duties, but they have been through worse and they know that it is necessary to do this to build the crew they were given to train to be good pilots…let's not forget that Zoids are their specialty, not ours."

"True…but I think the crew down there will be very resentful Captain, sooner or later, they might decide to go against the brothers and that is one situation that we cannot afford to have right now."

The ancient woman nodded, her First Mate did have a valid point, the women down there will still hold resentment, and the last thing the crew needed was a mutiny.

"We'll have to go down their a few times to make sure we can smooth over any difficulties, that way it would be easier for the crew there to work with them."

On the ground…

The women were being tested greatly as they went through the obstacle course and were sweating like mad and their bodies were pushed to the limits…and that was before they went next to the training course of hand to hand combat, namely in the areas of hand to hand and melee combat, the next also included weight lifting and power exercises. The women swore that they would faint at the intense rate of their training. They had to not forget on their classes as well as the brothers had been very serious about their work as their trainers and their leaders.

Brandon and his siblings however knew that the battle-field was a different story and what they were doing was merely part on how to make sure they were able to handle the stress placed on them in combat once they were called upon to handle ground missions for the ship. Magno and Buzam did state that they would come frequently to check on the progress, starting tomorrow to help smoothen out any of the problems that may arise between them and the women. All three brothers nodded and went to do their work as the women were finishing their rounds in the yards, and they were still sweating, even in the cool air. As soon as the women stopped, the men gave them time to cool down and told them to move around to cut down the build-up of lactic acid in their bodies, as soon as they were feeling a bit more active…the men led them to have lunch and told them that they had an hour and a half later to relax and rest before they would be piloting their Zoids in the practical phase.

As soon as they finished their lunches, the women went to their quarters and took a very long shower, letting the warm water help them sooth their tired muscles. The women who still wanted to relax a lot more took the time to go out and looked at the forests and the mountains, plus sitting down to the ground and just resting. The others took the time to sleep and closed their eyes…all of them however knew that their resting period was not going to last very since they did only have one hour and a half before they would once more be back in the training regime. The brothers were then in the hangers and took out their Liger ZERO Zoids and got ready for the training exercises.

They didn't know how the women would take to this situation now that they will be piloting Zoids in real time combat, since it was known that many Zoids, including the ones they had had close combat ability, they were also going to teach women how to fight with Zoids in close combat.

After and hour and a half, the women were once more awakened and now headed out to the Hangers as the brothers were waiting, even if they were still somewhat tired, this was the part of their training that they would have to get used to.

In the ensuring hours before darkness fell on the planet, the women were now piloting their Zoids as they put themselves through running exercises, not minding the bumps and finding themselves being kept safe by the restraints in the cockpit of their Zoids…several of the pirates, namely those who chose to pilot the fast Lightning Saix, including Kara found themselves seeing the full power of the Zoid as the g-forces were unlike anything they had ever experienced, thankfully they were given special piloting suits and harnesses to help then get used to the speed of the Lightning Saix should they activate the high grade Ion Engines of the Lightning Saix Zoid.

The one who trained them in high speed combat was none other than Brandon, with his Ultimate X Zoid in it's Jaeger CAS Armor, the blue armored Zoid ran with the black, and red armored Zoids as the eldest of the brothers taught them how to move in formation, use the air tunnels behind each of them to boost their speed and how to move in a straight line to fool forward facing enemies into seeing only the lead Lightning Saix thus making it hard to discern numbers at high speed, and how to shoot targets were at high speed with considerable accuracy. The women found themselves struggling to do that as the terrain they were running in was not as flat and they had to be careful or else they would cause considerable damage to their Zoids with one foul misstep.

Brandon was familiar with ranged combat and close fighting as his brothers, but he preferred the high speed approach, and critical strike…which was why he was considered the high speed demon of the Academy. His ability to tolerate g-forces was considerable though he knew of safety and used restraints and protection to prevent lack of consciousness. He was by far the best high speed combatant though many would contest that…he was still considered the best.

He kept in contact with the girls and told them when to decelerate until their bodies recovered from the speed and then told them to make the needed changes should they suffer again from gradual stress.

The women who were not part of the ones who selected the Lightning Saix were in awe at just how fast those Zoids were moving…they were almost like black, red blurs with green nearby from the eyes. The Zoids not only looked awesome to many of them, but moved beautifully. They however had to focus on other matters as the two remaining Reinhart siblings were still before them.

Scott was teaching the women who piloted the Command Wolves, Blade Ligers, Shield Ligers, and Saber Fangs the basics of Zoid close combat, with him using a remote controlled Saber Fang to spar with him and Rikera, as the middle brother's Organoid evolved Zoid fought with only basic armor and weaponry. The women could only watch as the two Zoids faced each other, leaping, smashing, biting, clawing, and tearing into one another like…well, beasts…showing that despite them being robotic fighting machines, Zoids, whether basic, evolved, or wild possessed the innate combat instinct of beasts and the only way they would survive using their Zoids in a possible ground confrontation, and in close combat where their guns, cannons, and missiles were of now use was to fight like beasts.

Scott was very familiar with ranged combat like his other brothers, along with close combat, but among the brothers and in the Academy, there were few who could match him in close combat as the instructors said that he had a knack and talent in close combat.

As soon as the middle brother and his Zoid finished the instructions, he then told them that regardless whether you're Zoid possessed guns, missile pods or beam weaponry, it still paid to utilize the natural weaponry it already possessed, both built in and outside. He then told them to prepare themselves for the fight as the Zoid he fought with was up on it's feet, and was now joined by an AI controlled Blade Liger, and Command Wolf. The good news was that most of the weaponry was reduced in damage power to ensure no serious injuries to both pilots and the machines. And at the signal…the AI controlled Zoids, with the slightly damaged Saber Fang in the lead squared off with the first trainees, the women were still not used to this and it was natural that despite these not being Vanguards, the women were not used to close quarters combat and they were being bushwhacked by their Ai opponents and had their Zoids taken out rather early as the AI piloted Zoids were now on top of them and had that been a real combat situation, the enemy Zoids would have a clear shot at them with either fangs or claws. The others who watched now had idea of what would have been Meia's situation in a fight had it been in a Vanguard and she fought with Brandon and his Zoid Zarreke.

Scott looked at the first batch and sighed as he spoke to them in their comm.-systems.

"That was not good ladies, not good at all…though I doubt we will be having that level of difficulty in ground ops, or these kinds of fights, you're lack of training will be a serious problem. Get you're Zoids back up carefully and rejoin at the rear…until you all get the basics right, we will be at this until night-fall. Next!"

The next batch of cadets were now in the plate and got ready as the AI controlled Zoids faced them and the women who had been bushwhacked by their AI controlled foes got their Zoids back up and moved back somewhat humiliated that they didn't even last three seconds, while Scott not only lasted far longer but also took down and AI unit, they planned to ask him if he had cheated as they were led back by Mia, just as Rin and her allies went into the fight.

Lance had his Liger Kail in his Panzer Armor and was now leading his own class at target acquisition as they watched and his Liger dish out powerful blasts with the Hybrid Cannons on several large targets made out of easy to replace foam boards, though it might have seem like overkill…using high powered canons on boards of foam, the foam was made out of high density light weight fibers and could withstand light weapons like it was battle-ship plating…perfect for Zoid ranged weaponry as the Panzer CAS covered Liger ZERO Zoid was flanked by the remaining Shield Ligers, Blade Ligers, Command Wolves and Saber Fangs. The Liger however used only smaller bursts of power, but it still pushed the Zoid back considerably and the cooling system certainly was tested. That was why Lance economized his use of his Hybrid cannons, and also used his other weapons except the missile pods. Despite the recoil he suffered from using the Hybrid cannons from time to time, his accuracy at hitting long range targets without missing was exceptional.

Lance was very familiar with high speed assault, and close combat as his other siblings, but he was more attune to ranged combat than they were and was very much the heavy gunner of the trio…that was why he also tweaked the sensors and targeting systems of his Liger to get maximum coverage for target acquisition and range…and his brothers don't hold it against him, they knew he could be just as skilled as they were in high speed, and close combat. Plus his aptitude with his Liger's ranged guns and Panzer CAS had saved their combined bacon more than once.

As soon as he was done, he guided his Liger away and let the ladies piloting the Zoids to step into the firing line he set up.

"Okay ladies…you're on."

The women smiled and got ready as new foam sets were sent up by the lifters, and when thy fired, their learned an important lesson. How to handle the recoil that might affect accuracy since some of their Zoids' weaponry had some powerful recoil. Despite his own recoil problems which he still has some difficulty in fixing, his advice of how to correct their recoil compensator systems and dampeners proved helpful as their shots became more accurate, that was only phase one however as Lance took to the firing line and this time the targets were moving, the target boards were at different speeds, some were slow, other were of medium speed, and the rest that were in neither category were at high speed, and considering that they were random locations, certainly made it harder to hit. All of the targets were well within weapon range, but with the fact that they were all on the move, this made aiming at them a bit more challenging than most would think.

Lance himself took the time to adjust his aiming and shots to make sure he had the correct modifications to his Liger's targeting systems and scanners, along with improving the recoil compensators of his Zoid to handle the recoil from firing at moving targets, once he was doe, they got to work taking out several more targets, and the recoil was still strong but not enough to decrease the Zoid's accuracy rate as it hit a good number of the slow moving and middle speed targets, he however took greater care in targeting the more fast moving targets and the ones that were at a greater distance too…he took his time and fired several shots, though some didn't hit bulls-eye, they were still hitting the targets well in the area to do the most damage. As soon as he was done…he turned his Zoid to face them.

"All right…now it's you're turn."

The ladies struggled with the new problems of adjusting their systems and aiming at moving targets, the slower ones were easy enough to hit, as well as the ones at a balanced speed, but the faster moving ones and those at a distance took some getting used to…many didn't do well, but some proved to be excellent shooters and would need to work on it more, and get better long range weapons.

As he looked at the performance…Lance conversed with his Organoid.

"You think we should introduce Gunsnipers to those with good sniper skills? We just might need the ranged firepower someday Kail?"

("That seems to be a good idea, long range, and precise fire-power can be the key to win certain fights, better ask not just me though, ask you're siblings. In my case old friend, I say go ahead.")

Hours later…

The women trooped into the mess hall and ate their dinner, they were tired as can be…still aching from the runs they had just done and felt like they had been in a triathlon three times. They had been worked to the bones in physical training, their minds were tired from remembering their lessons, and then their bodies were put to the test.

And this was only their first day!

Brandon and his brothers looked over at the sheets and shook their heads…considering the day's results…there was going to be a lot of work left to do for all three of them, though the women showed much promise and only needed to learn more and more on the right methods and techniques. They also agreed with Lance that they would have to soon bring up the Gunsniper Zoids to test those with an aptitude for ranged combat, namely in the sniper role as precise firepower was just as needed as suppressive firepower.

--

The next day…

Brandon and his siblings were now on the regular jog run with the girls, and they were still sleepy, but the brothers knew that today would be the first day the pirates back on the Nirvana would be paying them a visit soon to check on the progress of the girls under their command, they were ready to have complains coming in soon to the pirate leaders and got ready for that.

For now it was training time until they arrived before classes started as they and the women moved on through the fields, the women looked sleepy, but the cool air invigorated them a load more and got them, on the move.

--

On the Nirvana, in one of the launch bays…

"Are you sure that you all wish to come along with me?"

Magno asked the group of her crew, she had originally intended to bring only herself, Gascogne, BC, Duero, Paiway, and Parfait, but it seemed that several other wanted to come along too. The shuttle was fully fueled and they had gotten the go ahead signal from the brothers recently in the early morning and had told the crew that they would be heading down to the surface to check the progress of the female cadets chosen to be led by the three brothers.

"Yes Captain, I want to see how the women from the Dread Squadrons are doing after they had been selected to be part of the newly formed ground teams for the pirates."

Meia replied as she stood at attention and was in her normal businesslike manner as she spoke to the older woman.

Magno and BC could see the validity of Meia's decision; it was the reasons of the rest that bothered them.

Dita replied as to why she wanted to come along with the old woman.

"I wanted to see how Mr. Alien and the other good aliens are doing, and I want to see the new alien machines they have, can I go see them, please?" the redhead asked as she gave them a dreaded sad puppy dog eyes bit.

Magno laughed a bit and looked at the other assembled group.

"And you two?"

Jura smiled a bit.

"I want to see what other Zoids they have in their arsenals, I happen to like the looks of them and I want to see just how good they can operate…plus I plan on convincing a certain someone to do me a very helpful favor."

The blonde smiled as she recalled her plans to try and convince the ever reluctant Scott Reinhart to finally fuse his Liger with her Dread once they were back on the Nirvana and in space operations.

Barnette merely shrugged her shoulders and replied.

"I merely want to see if they actually know how to work with women, no matter what they say about being able to lead, I want to see this for myself."

Magno and Buzam knew that Barnette was still very much one of the women who still didn't trust the siblings, the two hoped that nothing dangerous would come out of the situation. Seeing as they had enough room and finding nothing wrong so far, the women agreed, Dita cheered and had a bounce in her step as she boarded the shuttle…Meia merely sighed and wondered how the others from the Dreads were handling the situation, Jura smiled and began to have a sly expression on her face as she planned out her latest scheme to convince Scott to combine with her and her Dread…Barnette merely sighed and shook her head at her friend's scheming…along with having some rather unfriendly thoughts on what to do when Scott might try something with Jura.

As the shuttle flew down to where the base was, the women wondered just what they were going to be seeing once they got into the temporary base of the male Zoid pilots. Magno and the silver haired Buzam hoped for the best.

--

On the grounds…

The women were given a break from classes for today as they were informed that the Captain was coming in to check up on them, the brothers then pointed to them that they can be free to relax before they get back to the training.

Brandon and his siblings communicated with the shuttle in the communications building and guided them to the landing zone that had been cleared up and set by them when they first came there two days before, they also told the crew to expect their fellow women to meet them.

As the shuttle arrived, the women were there to greet their leader and the others. Mia was then the one along with Kara and Rin who told the elder woman about their problems in training, and they were also the ones who directed the officers and the others to the command building where Brandon and his brothers had some things that needed to be done.

--

Later…

Brandon was drinking a cup of coffee and was on e desk with Buzam, Gascogne, and Magno sitting before him as he showed them the report sheets on the performance of each of the cadets under his command and that of his brothers. Lance and Scott however were not present, nor were they needed to since both had duties to perform.

Lance was busy looking at the women who were performing in the sniper course to see if his plan of inducting a select batch of cadets into the Sniper cadre would work out, along with him was Dita…who had been the first to enter their room and naturally glomp on him, startling the young man and making them laugh along with Magno who chuckled at the look of utter embarrassment on the face of his youngest brother, Dita's playful and cheery nature was really putting their brother on the ropes, though he was somewhat getting used to the idea…however even he and Scott hoped that the redhead will not do something that makes Lance too angry.

Scott on the other hand was busy training the female pilots in the gym on hand to hand combat, and he was busy as well with dealing with Duero and Paiway, the doctor went along to learn how the fighting style of their dimension went in terms of practice, Parfait tagged along to see the Zoids, since the gym was in connection to the supply storage and the Zoid Hangers, however, they were not the only ones as a certain blonde was with the group, along with a certain green-haired woman.

Brandon mentally sighed at the thought of both Jura and Barnette, both of them had no idea the effect the two of them would have on men not from Tarak…just like his brother Scott, like when he and Scott teased Lance about Dita's infatuation with him, he and Lance would laugh at him for the way Jura's more mature antics were affecting their middle brother, if the two were ever on Zi…not a single day would go by that they would be hounded by every young or older man on their world!

In all fairness however, all of them agreed that the inbreeding in Megele had allowed all the positive physical traits of women to be shown in full flower, they all doubted the phrase 'ugly' existed in their dictionary. Dita was very pretty and upbeat, Meia might be cold at times, but she had a very attractive face, though her circlet kind puts that off…Jura was no doubt a blonde bombshell, and Barnette…though not as full figured as her blonde friend was certainly an eyeful…both of them were in their garb, and they would have been in serious trouble, namely when jealous girl-friends and wives would slap their boy-friends, and husbands.

That was why Scott was rather uneasy around her…he had been with very attractive women before, during his time in Zi, and when they were sent into this dimension, but with the things they had done and the constant moving around, along with their promise to find their mother that they have fervently kept for five years…he barely had the time to develop any sort of relationship…and now this voluptuous, sensual, and beautiful blonde woman was telling him to combine with her!! Never mind the fact that the way she says it and the double meanings of both her actions and words were sending the more…ah…primal ideas on the word combine into his middle brother's head!

The fact that Barnette was very hostile to them and very protective of Jura, made that idea even more risky. The one thing the brothers didn't want was a misunderstanding that would cause serious problems if taken to the extremes by the others on the ship…and the emerald haired girl was just one of those people capable of that. Back in their days in the Academy, they had seen fellow students, both men and women do stuff like that, and it resulted in a lot of situations, most were quick to pass or were corrected and resolved…others however left a lasting mark on people, and they were not very helpful nor were they wounds that would heal in time on occasion. That was the one thing they avoided doing in their days and they did fine…and something like happening on the Nirvana was the same as letting Zoid thieves enter you're garage and stealing you're Zoids without putting up a fight.

"So…what's you're take on the crew members that were chosen Brandon?" Magno asked the eldest brother as she finished reading the reports.

The Eldest Zoid pilot sighed a bit as he drank his coffee.

"Too early to tell Captain…they do have good potential and according to Lance…some of them can be trained to use Zoids that are used in sniper roles…but this is not something you do in one run…this process takes weeks and the first day tells me the women assigned to me have a very long way left to go."

Buzam then spoke as she finished her own study of the reports.

"I'm afraid that we don't have a lot time left to offer you and you're brothers, if it can be done in a few weeks it, then it will be fine."

Brandon put down his mug and sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He then faced the silver haired Commander.

"A few weeks might not be enough, normally, had this been a military meeting back home Commander…what you're asking me and my brothers to do in weeks is something out of a cheesy action movie…none of them have ever seen a Zoid, let alone pilot one until yesterday, and it will still take us time to get them totally prepared for combat…We'll do our best to prepare them for any ground operations, but I still say we will need to have more time, until they are ready for any eventuality."

Magno, Gascogne, and Buzam knew that they were asking a lot from Brandon and his siblings, and they were doing all they can…and that was for the time being enough. The Captain realized that her decision in choosing the Reinhart siblings for this duty was a very good move. Had they assigned others to do it, then the ground team would have been in serious trouble. They then handed the list of complaints the women had to Brandon.

The eldest brother could only sigh as he began reading the list and shake his head at some of the complaints the women had concerning the conditions they were in on the base and their training, it made him wonder if the women realized that although they would not be often in use as a strike force, they still needed to endure hardship and build themselves up both physically and mentally in order for them to handle the stress of battle. He and his brothers had endured five years in this dimension…knowing no one who knew them, relying on only what they had and on their Zoids…and each other, they relied on their training, skills, knowledge, and experience to see them through, and keep hold of their promise to their mother for five years, no matter what, they would not leave her behind and those who were with them, she was the only parent that they had, and their oath to their father held them close for as long as they could recall ever since they were stuck in this universe.

Comparing their five years of long work and hardship to only sore muscles, tired bodies, bruised egos, lack of any aesthetically pleasing things and more was a slap in the face to them…but they understood enough to know a portion of how their female cadets felt. Their parents taught them to do the right thing and when they made a promise…they had to keep it.

Magno didn't know the history of the brothers since they had never spoken to her about it, she suspected that something very important held them together, and if didn't have anything entirely to do with the fact that they were siblings, however she made no attempt to pry into the brothers' private affairs and sensed that sooner or later, they would reveal it themselves.

"If you want, I can talk with them."

"I appreciate the offer…but I don't want to burden you with all this…"

"It is all right Brandon, you and you're brothers are already doing what we asked of you…please allow us to help you as well."

Brandon sighed, but not before giving a warm thank you to the elder woman.

--

Elsewhere…

"OOOFFF!"

The young woman gave out a groan as she was tossed aside in a military precision throw by Scott, all the women were wearing two outfits in self defense class…a light-weight sleeveless body suit and a training gi in white over the suit. Right now the Eldest brother was wearing the same clothes as his students were. Around him were several more students and some were in small groups and they were looking at him with still uneasy eyes, not that he could blame them of course, this must be the first time they got manhandled by a man and being unable to either go through their world's decontamination methods, shower…or more importantly…fight back.

Next to the students were a certain pair of females in their normal garb, one was a drop dead gorgeous emerald eyed blonde in a dress that screamed sexy in ten levels of volume…in his mind anyway, and the second one was a short haired emerald haired girl who didn't look at him in a good way, despite the fact that she too wore clothes that would have had a lot of men who were not from Tarak look like a bunch of pole-axed idiots.

He shook those thoughts aside and went back to his class

"All right, as you have seen, Lana's mistake was she extended too early and this left her vulnerable to the attack, in any form of close combat, lowering you're guard should only be done for two reasons, the first is that it is a ploy for you to get you're into a vulnerable position, and if your enemy is defeated and can no longer fight."

As the women looked on as the skilled hand to hand combatant continued his lecture, one of them asked a question.

"Why do we need to learn martial arts anyway? Do we need it to pilot Zoids?"

Scott looked at the students and spoke, ignoring the fact that Barnette and Jura were in the area.

"Martial arts is an important skill when there are situations where weapons are not available or are considered impractical, and also is a needed skill to improve reflexes, physical strength, and can be helpful in keeping fit. In piloting Zoids, you need to fast in both you're senses, mind, and you're body as well, and should you be in a situation where hand to hand combat is more useful and weapons are out of the question, martial arts is a good skill to fall back upon. Once you learn how to improve you're body's own speed, strength, and reflexes, you can use them to improve you're piloting of you're Zoid in battle. You're health is also important, and as such, martial arts keep you fit, and it builds mental discipline, which is very important in any fire-fight since if you lose you're mental discipline, you not only lose focus, but you might endanger yourself and you're comrades…and that is the last thing you want to happen when in a fire-fight. Any questions?"

As the women didn't ask any questions he got ready to continue his lessons and then had some volunteers spar with him in a three way match to show his skills in close combat against multiple opponents, as he did so, he would stop and explain different moves, attacks, defensive techniques, holds, methods of throwing, grips, and how use momentum, position, force, speed, leverage, and arcs of attack to their advantage. He knew those were important in conjunction with all the other methods of combat with both melee weapons and hand to hand. He then took out the knife he and his brothers used…it was the combat knife issued to all Republic soldiers and the middle brother than showed them how to use weapons that were ideal for close combat battles, as he had different types made from hard rubber and showed them what he learned in his Academy days, and the skills he picked up along with his brothers in the five years of travel.

Jura nodded in approval…though she still held to her world's beliefs that them were the enemy and could never equal women…she had to admit that Scott was a very skillful fighter, alongside his brothers…though there was something in him that seemed…somewhat off, though not in a bad way.

Barnette looked at the whole situation and shook her head…it still did not sit well with her…the idea that women being under the command of men, but since she could not do much about it…all she could do was wait and see.

--

Elsewhere in the base…

"Wow…so many alien machines! They are so COOL!!"

Dita was very happy as she moved about, looking at all the Zoids that were in the hangers, waiting for their pilots after they had their lunch. The red-haired girl was happy to be seeing so many Zoids, it was like being in one of the zoos her homeland of Megele had, but this was the first time she saw massive robotic animals.

Lance as nearby as he was working on several of the designs that they had in their archives…apart fro their Zoids, supplies, and munitions, the brothers had on hand a large amount of design specs, data, plans and more from their military, both Guylos Empire and Helic Republic designs, most were of weapon systems, scanners, and more…some however were of Zoids that could be built, these plans however were never used by them since they were constantly on the move and the trouble it would cause if they slipped up and the plans fell into the hands of anyone with hostile intentions. For now, he was studying several design platforms and blue-prints.

One of which was an experimental weapon pack code named…'Wild Weasel'. This design was not yet in combat production as he last recalled, but seeing the specs had his interest for quite a bit, the reason he and his brothers never built it was the lack of time, and equipment.

Parfait then spotted him as he was in front of the design computer. The plucky head engineer was also in awe at the number of Zoids and their designs, alongside Duero, who left his friend Dylan back at the Medical Bay to handle the incoming cases while he would be around to help deal with any possible training injuries, though the brothers were able to make sure that there were no serious one, he had a suspicion that there will come a time that either he or Dylan will be assigned as medic to the base…he looked forward to that actually..

"What's that?"

The bespectacled woman asked…pointing at the design plans for the Wild Weasel as she looked at the data.

Lance replied.

"These are design plans for a custom weapon system that can be used to boost a Zoid's combat abilities, this one is called the Wild Weasel."

"Hmmm…how come I never saw it in this hanger?"

"It was never built…too little time and lack of equipment and machinery…plus it is a huge weapon pack…no Vanguard or Dread could use it, and even more so since it was made to be compatible with Zoids only. Besides that…there's no need to build it yet."

"I see…"

Dita then walked up to Lance and hugged him, the proximity of the redhead to him was very much making the younger brother somewhat more uncomfortable since the way Dita was dressed was very much attractive, and being glomped n all the time and being shown a load of attention and affection from a very cute woman certainly had it's effect on the young man.

"What is it now?!"

Lance asked as he squirmed at Dita's hug.

"Can you tell me about you're travels Mr. Alien, are there other places, aliens, being you and you're brothers have seen?"

"Now is not exactly the best…"

"Please…."

Dita gave the dreaded sad puppy dog eyes on him and Lance tried not to get caught up into it but was failing.

However, he was saved from any further embarrassment as the PA system came to life and his eldest brother called him to get ready to provide lunch to both their students and guests. The youngest brother nodded, put aside his studies and made his way into the kitchen facility…with Dita following along, asking if she could help with the cooking.

--

Later…

In the mess hall, the women were eating their lunch heartily as there was steamed vegetables, beef stew with potatoes, roasted ribs, fruit salad, mashed potatoes with gravy, hot rice, and fried fish. The women admitted that they all agreed that the three men they were assigned to follow were good cooks, though they never admitted that openly.

Magno herself admitted that the three brothers were very good, and she wondered what other skills out of the battle they had with them. The older woman was enjoying her meal and relished the time away from the ship, just having a quiet meal and being in a situation where fighting didn't happen unexpectedly.

Buzam was still getting used to the fact that the three brothers could cook very well, so she was stunned by the way the food was made, it was well prepared and tasted wonderful.

Jura also smiled at the food, not too fattening but very tasty, Scott was a very interesting person as she was already finding out, as she planned to see if she could find a way to convince him to combine with her once they were back on the Nirvana and she had her Dread.

Barnette was also eating, but had a sour look on her face, despite the good food that was before her. She still didn't like the fact that men could cook and she was still very wary of the closeness Jura was showing to Scott. She wanted to make sure that the nonsense between the two would stop soon once Jura got what she wanted out of Scott…that however didn't relieve the tension and wariness she had for the middle sibling.

Gascogne had to admit as well that apart from being decent card players, the brothers were very good chefs, she had no doubt in her mind that the women on her world would be shocked to meet men who were not afraid of them, were good pilots, and cooks at the same time.

The pirate officers were able to request time to be spent on looking at how the girls would perform in their combat exercises with the Zoids. Brandon and his siblings saw nothing wrong with the idea and approved it. Normally since it was the second day, the only time an inspection by the higher ups was done was by the time the troops were sufficiently skilled to merit one…but this was just a good a time as any.

--

Later…

The women were surprised to learnt hat on this day, the Captain would be also around to act as an observer to see how well they were going to do on this new day's round of field exercises. She along with Buzam, and Gascogne will be looking at their performance and see if they were doing what she asked of them.

They realized that this was a good chance to show the Captain how they were doing and thus, despite their still present dislike of the Reinhart siblings, they agreed to do their absolute best to show that the efforts were going to pay off. As they got into the Zoids for their field exercises, the brothers were also boarding their own Ligers to begin their training tests as it was also time to show that they were the right people to lead the ground missions.

Magno, Buzam, Gascogne, Dita, Meia, Jura, Barnette, Duero, and Parfait watched as their fellow pirates were put through their paces, the brothers were able to incorporate various components of their training into the regimes.

Brandon was in his Liger, with the Jaeger CAS on , but was now being followed by the other Zoids, namely the Shield Ligers, Blade Ligers, Command Wolves, and Saber Fangs as the women were now being trained to fight on the move, against both mobile and immobile targets, combining the elements of Lance's training methods and his own. The end result was that the women now suffered the task of learning how to condition their Zoids and weapons to hitting targets while on the move, along with hitting moving targets…this proved to be a serious challenge and they were now getting the gist of what it meant to be a Zoid pilot.

Scott was also in his Liger and showed his own band of students how to fight with both close combat weapons, in conjunction with powerful blasts of their ranged weaponry, using the ranged weaponry to wound a tough opponent or to maneuver a target to a more favorable location for the fight to be in their favor. The women now had to spar with their AI sparring partners and with the Captain watching them, they had an even better reason to beat the AI pilots, upgraded as they are. The women were not going to let some AI piloted machines beat them this time around as they began to fight more fiercely.

That was very much a good sight to the pirate officers, and even the Dread pilots, including Barnette admitted that it was a very strange but exciting feeling, watching massive robotic beast ripping and tearing into each other like real life fighting animals.

Lance dealt with his forte of ranged warfare, but now included how to do it while evading enemy fire, using targets that fired lasers that while not harmful, were used at training in the art of firing while dodging enemy fire, since there were sensor pads on the Zoids, that if hit, the sensors would simulate real damage and inhibit the performance of the Zoid that was hit. This was his way of teaching the women who were assigned to him, that while hitting a target either mobile or immobile was a challenge, it would be an even greater challenge for them to avoid getting hit themselves.

The brothers not only taught sections of their students their skills but also taught them how to mix skills together to be more effective as pilots since the battle field was not going to be easy and they had to be prepared for anything and any eventuality that might occur, better to be prepared and alive than to be unprepared and dead.

Magno and the others watched as they decided to make some extra plans for the ground team before they would be called back to the Nirvana…their time table was discussed and the brothers accepted to train the women for a few more weeks before they were back on the Nirvana, and when the time permitted it, the brothers would land on a habitable planet and train the women more on the various methods and skills they all would be needing once they were needed on missions that required them to land on a planetary surface.

They also agreed on having both Duero and Dylan travel in rotations to the surface and be the base's medic team, and Parfait's request to be able to access the data archives of the brothers was allowed by them under the conditions that the plans were to be approved by them, this way what they deemed to be too dangerous was to be only released by them should the need arise.

The brothers also planned to use the Gunsnipers they already have soon in their training, but decided to use two now…one to show how it was used, and another to act as the field test model for the women to test their sniper skills with. For now it was still basic combat.

--

Much later…

"What are those?"

That was the main inquiry made by just about everyone on the women's side as they all gazed at the raptor like Zoids that was now being brought in from the Hanger…the Zoids were brought in an hour before by Lance who had gone back to the Nirvana via his Zoid and now there were two new Zoids with him.

The Zoids were like small dinosaur type animals and seemed to be smaller than the other Zoids in the base, but from the way that the brothers moved the machines, these were powerful machines…the women learned early that looks…when it came to Zoids was nothing compared to the ability and weaponry of the machine in question.

Brandon then began to outline the abilities and functions of the Zoid as Lance got into the Zoid and powered up it's systems and moved the Zoid into the assembled firing range and testing yard.

"This is the Gunsniper, this Zoid is the sniper Zoid used by the Helic Republic back on our world of Zi. This Zoid might seem small and light weight, compared to the other Zoids in our arsenals, but size and looks does not matter when you are using a Zoid. This Zoid has a slew of combat weapons, bite fangs, strike claws, beam gatling guns, beam bolt launchers, and a missile launcher. These are it's basic weapons, thus for a Zoid it's size it is well armed and equipped to handle a sizable number of threats. The reason why we call it the Gunsniper is about to be shown."

The Zoid first started out with the weapons mentioned by Brandon as it went through it's paces, but then as it got to the area where large numbers of targets were seen, the Zoid then unleashed two more claws that dug deeply into the soil that seemed to crouch somewhat and the tail extended forward into sections as the tip revealed an opening that is normally seen from a rifle, and the shooting began as Lance was still in the cockpit, many of the viewers were then treated to an internal camera view and saw the youngest brother lying on his stomach and using what appeared to be a rifle.

"The Gunsniper is named as such because the tail actually houses one of the largest rifles known to exist, a 144mm anti armor rifle that can be used to break through most energy shields and armor classes, unless the target possesses exceptional armor and shielding. The Zoid was used to incapacitate larger Zoid types and take out smaller threats to minimize the risk of a swarm attack. The reason this Zoid is present is that some of you will be trained on how use the Gunsniper's main 144mm rifle in combat to disable large foes and help support you're team-mates. Before we do that however, we need to see you're skills with normal rifles and guns before we can consider you eligible to pilot a Gunsniper."

As the women moved about, Jura turned to Barnette and asked her close friend.

"You want to try using the rifle in that Zoid Barnette?"

"No thanks, I rather stick to my Dread, thank you very much."

Magno however knew about Barnette's skill with guns and naturally had her records pertaining to her performance in the Vanguard mission a few weeks before. They showed that Barnette had the potential to be a part of the ground operations forces, however Magno had reservations on the idea of having Barnette work under Brandon and his siblings.

The first was the fact that among the women, who still viewed men with suspicion, and didn't trust them, Barnette was the most vocal of the groups, going to some small but present lengths to antagonize the brothers, despite the fact that they were not from Tarak and thus, the prejudice of their world technically did not apply to them. The second was her dislike for Scott Reinhart, the green haired girl showed considerable wariness and distrust to the middle sibling, no doubt due to the actions being done by Jura to combine her Dread with Scott's Liger, and that seemed to make the emerald haired girl somewhat…jealous.

Magno was a very old woman, nearly a hundred years old to be in fact, but she knew enough about history to know about men and women living together and the problems that went with it. She only hoped that things did not get too out of hand until they all made it back to their home system.

--

As the activities calmed down and Magno and the others were leaving, despite Jura's request to stay along with Dita's, she spoke to her crew and told them that they were doing well, but needed to work a lot more in order for them to truly succeed.

As they left, the brothers went back to their duties in training the women, who were now getting used to their training as the ground operations force of the pirates. The one thing they noted that is that now for his rotation, Duero was their base's medic officer, and after a week, Dylan would be shipped in the base once Duero was done with his time there. The Captain also told them that after a few more weeks, they would have to pack it up and leave the planet.

They hoped that soon the women would be involved in a ground mission so they could see the results of their training.

For now…it was time to rest for tomorrow would be another day…

--

To be continued…

--

Author's notes:

The reasons why the more powerful Zoids are not used at this stage is that the women still have to be trained in basic maneuvers, and as such they had to learn using basic Zoids to grasp the needed skills in order to be effective pilots. Brandon and his siblings may have the talent, potential, and aptitude, but even they had to learn the fundamental basics of Zoid combat to serve as a foundation. Giving new pilots high powered Zoids is just plain wrong…they need the basic training in order to smooth out the rough edges properly.

Also, the Zoids only exist in the reality that Brandon, his brothers, and the other crew of the massive space traveling Whale King that they came in, and none of the women of Megele had yet to learn how to pilot the Zoids, thus basic training is a must. According to the data, a Gojulas is a massive and slow Zoid, unless in close combat, but that will not always be the case, and only an experienced and skilled pilot can keep it from being toppled easily …so that is why no power-house Zoids are in the scenes yet.

Oh yeah…my bad on the Lightning Saix, I managed to find out that it is not a basic Zoid, the reason I called it one is that the Lightning Saix that is used in this story are built after the battle with the original Death Saurer decades, before, so the Lightning Six is now becoming a slightly more common sight than it was once was when the prototype was still the only one of it's kind after Raven and his Geno-Breaker Zoid destroyed the factory that was capable of making more of the Lightning Saix Zoid type. The Lightning Saix that the pirates will be using are the ones that were built after they do get the factories back in order and the Lightning Saix is now in more open, though still limited use…though the women will still need to get used to the speed and acceleration of the Zoids of this type.

--

This chapter is done, now we move on to the next chapter, hopefully we can have some fun, and yes, in the coming chapters, there will be ground missions for the ground teams to accomplish, it's not always going to be space borne battles either way you know.

This will also include some original ideas on what kind of ground forces the Harvester possess in their army, apart from their already deadly space borne navy, this will be the reason why the Nirvana will be involved in a good number of ground and space battles…hey…this IS a crossover with Zoids you know, and no Zoid episode would be complete if there were no ground operations.

Whether I will introduce sea combat Zoids is still somewhat up for debate…after all…a Whale King Zoid can only carry so many Zoids. And I don't know just how much room is left in the Nirvana to house those types anyway.

I also have other plans for the many types of Zoids in the story, though since those were built in the middle between Guardian Force Time-line and New Century Time-line, don't expect me to bring out any super Zoids right off the bat.

--

On Barnette's case, she is not yet part of the ground operations force and would be considered as a potential candidate for the ground team. Despite the fact that she would make a great Zoid pilot, she still is hostile with the brothers and her dislike for hem and her stronger dislike for the closeness growing between Scott and Jura will make her rather untrustworthy at his point in time, so until that issue is resolved, she is not yet a part of the ground operations unit of the Nirvana, and she still has to under go training like the others, but due to her hostile nature towards the brothers, that would not be a good idea at the current juncture.

--

Hi, Brandon here…we've gotten way over our heads in this one! The ship's been ambushed and the aliens have some new fighter that's running rings around us!

Not to mention the fact that we are in a blasted asteroid field that is really messing things up for use out here!!

Guys!! We've got a serious problem!!

What?

The fighter got Meia! The Dreads are in disarray and she's in bad shape!

Great, just great…any plans guys?

I got one…but it's going to be close…

Go for it little brother.

Wait…what about Meia?

She has something she has to come to terms with, we have to let her handle this on her own…she'd want us to.

--

Mother….

--

Next time on ZoidDread…Chapter 7 Ambush!

See you on the battlefield!!


	8. Ambush

ZoidDread

ZoidDread

Disclaimer: VanDread belongs to Studio GONZO, while Zoids belongs to Tomy.

Chapter 7

Ambush!

( ): Thoughts

(" "): Organoid Language

--

In the void of space…near an asteroid belt

"Damn it! That thing's getting away again!!"

Scott shouted in anger as the target he tried to take out with his Liger's weapons got away. The damn thing was fast…very fast and maneuverable…making the Dreads of the women look like garden slugs. The machine resembled a large dart, almost like a metallic mosquito…and like the mosquito it resembled, it and it's forces were becoming very annoying to the pirates.

"Keep you're cool guys, we've got to focus on how to protect the ship…Lance, what's the status of the Dread Squadrons?" Brandon asked as he ripped apart more Cube Fighters.

"In a word…bad."

Brandon sighed…things had gotten real dicey now.

The women pirates and their male allies were still struggling to make their way to the home system of Megele and Tarak, and it had been quite a struggle to not only deal with cultural blunders, both small and large now and then, but to deal with the constant attacks of the aliens, namely their fighters now dubbed as Cube Fighters and their Seed Ships. The forces in question had been waiting in a nearby massive debris belt to ambush the Nirvana and the pirates were caught, being unable to maneuver the ship due to the danger of the asteroids, planetary debris and more slamming into the ship, the pirates were forced to duke it out with the alien forces as soon as they were detected.

Problems sprang out the very second they fought the aliens…the first, apart from the lack of room for the Nirvana to move, was the fact that debris were hampering the Dread interceptors' ability to maneuver, showing once more their inherent vulnerability in close combat situations, and their ineffectiveness in a closed fight, despite their fire-power, armor, and speed, they were still hampered hard by the numbers of debris that limited their space to maneuver. The asteroids also interfered with the navigational systems of the Dreads, leaving them unable to determine where they were going, and this allowed the aliens to further press the attacks.

However it appeared that the new alien fighter didn't have those kinds of problems as it zipped around the area, taking sniping shots at both him and his brothers and the pirates. The machine may not have the size or armor, but it certainly had speed and maneuverability to help it along the way..

The Nirvana was still in the area, and with no weapons and no route of escape, the pirates had no choice but to fight in the unfavorable sector they were in…and the women were paying dearly as several of their pilots had to be rescued due to their Dreads being damaged and their injuries growing…that however was the least of their worries as a certain silver Dread was no longer in command of the Dreads.

Brandon frowned at that thought as he and Zarreke slammed into a Cube Fighter and the Zoid bit through the cylindrical connector and the Cube Fighter was turned to two floating pieces of junk. Even if this environment limited his Liger's use of the Ion Engines of the Jaeger CAS, it had little effect on the fighting power of the Zoid and it's pilot. That was not his concern at the moment as he recalled just what had happened earlier…

--

Flashback…

Meia gritted her teeth as she dodged yet another bunch of asteroids as she had taken out a pair of Cube Fighters, but she knew that they were merely the cannon fodder, the real prize was the nimble fighter that spearheaded the attack of the aliens, who they have dubbed the Harvesters, and seemed to be the best target to take out…

However, even for the veteran Dread pilot the fighter of the Harvesters proved to be one foe she couldn't easily catch and take out. The Dread she had, even with it's Paeksis enhanced systems was never built for the kind of battle-field she and the others were currently in.

She looked to the side and gritted her teeth as she saw that the asteroids did little to stop Brandon and his siblings in their attacks. The Zoids were seemingly at home on this kind of battle as they raked up a load of kills with ease as they used what was once the advantages of the Harvesters around, the Ligers were build for close combat first and foremost and despite the specialties of each sibling, they were very adept at close combat.

Lance managed to rip into a group of Cube Fighters and fire his rail-guns, reducing them into scrap and any that tried to escape were caught in the claws or teeth of the Zoid, he then used his hybrid cannons to take out several Cube Fighters and a Seed Ship that tried to reinforce it's comrades.

Scott used his Schneider's blades to rip and tear into unsuspecting Cube Fighters, the assault thins their ranks and even asteroids could not stop the blades of the Schneider in a fight as the gouges on the surface could attest to that, any Cube Fighter lucky enough to evade the blades, got ripped apart by the claws and teeth of the Liger.

Brandon might not be able to use his Liger's powerful speed and maneuverability, but that hardly mattered as he and his Zoid were still able to launch quick and punishing blows with the Zoid's guns, teeth and claws…the eldest brother looked very much at home here…unlike her who swore at the kind of battle-field she was in.

Meia gritted her teeth and her anger at all that was happening began to affect both her training and control as she neglected t watch her surroundings as she pursued the alien fighter as a squadron of Cube Fighters followed her, intend on taking her out.

However, they never got the chance to fire as Zarreke and Brandon came on the scene from above and asteroid and ripped into them all with a powerful lunge. The Cube Fighters caught in the attack never had a chance as they were shredded, and those not caught were torn apart by the Zoid's weaponry and Brandon's piloting skills.

As soon as that was done, he moved Zarreke next to the Dread Meia owned and got into contact with her.

"Meia! There's no way you can catch that thing alone, we have to combine our machines now…maybe the speed of the ZoidDread can…"

"Shut up Brandon! I don't need any help! Namely yours!!"

The Dread accelerated leaving the surprised Zoid behind as both Organoid and pilot swore.

"Damn it Meia! We don't have time for this kind of thing!! Get back here!!"

("That woman really must have a death wish…she'll get herself killed!!")

The Zoid leaped over the incoming asteroid and ran on the surface and followed the Dread…but just in time to see the one thing no one wanted to see.

Meia's pursuit of her target was ended very abruptly as she flew over the asteroid that was before them, the alien fighter had turned around and was now aiming at her. The aqua-haired girl's eyes widened as she realized her error. The alien fighter fired and she at the last moment tried to dodge the attack…

But just barely as the shot fired slammed very close to the cockpit…

"MEIA!!"

The Zoid then used it's Ion Boosters and fired it's guns at the alien fighter, forcing it break away before it could finish the Dread off in one fell swoop. The Zoid then covered The wounded Dread as it leaked coolant and sparks.

Brandon used an uplink to his cameras to the video feed in the Dread to try and check on Meia…and hat she was not good at all…

"Zarreke! What's her status?!"

("She's barely conscious and has serious injuries, I can't sense the rest , but you can be sure of one thing…unless we get her to the medics for treatment…she may not survive this fight.")

Brandon was relieved to see his brothers and their Zoids make it on the scene as the two Zoids covered him after he told them about what happened to Meia. The eldest brother then directed his Zoid to bite on the Dread's wing and drag the fighter back to the Nirvana…he knew that Meia would be in a foul mood to know the kind of butchery his Liger's teeth were doing on her Dread's armor, but that was now longer a concern at this point.

"This is Brandon to the Nirvana…repeat, This is Brandon! Can you hear me?"

Buzam appeared on the screen of his Zoid's cockpit as she tried to maintain discipline and calm on the rest of the pirates, both outside of the battle-zone and in the ship itself.

"Go ahead!"

"We've got a critically wounded to treat in the medical bay ASAP…Meia's been hit and she's losing blood fast!"

That had a very visible effect on the sub-commander as she looked shocked.

"Meia's been hit?!"

--

End of Flashback…

Ever since that happened, the Nirvana's Dread Squadrons were in complete disarray and were losing combat effectives and team-work was dropping very quickly. The brothers could see that the pirates relied too heavily on Meia to be their leader and without her skills, leadership traits, and her presence, the pirates were fighting not just against the pirates, but among themselves.

Brandon sighed as he maintained his focus as he and his brothers mounted a counter-strike to the enemy as they moved from one sector to another. They knew that they had to do something since at the rate of the break-down of discipline and focus on the pirates was speeding up.

Barnette's friend Jura had been placed in overall command of the Dreads, but the brothers were not very optimistic, granted Jura had potential as a leader, and was a capable Dread pilot, but she was now having a very difficult time coordinating her comrades in the defense of the Nirvana…considering the disarray of the Dread Squadrons, and the comm. chatter.

"This is not going well guys…any plans?" Scott asked as he and Rikera ripped apart several Cube Fighters to shreds.

Brandon then contacted Lance as he realized that as long as that alien fighter was in command the Harvesters would still have the upper hand in the whole battle they were fighting in. He couldn't combine with Meia since her Dread was out of it…but if you can't chase it…

"Lance, try and find Dita, combine with her and try and take out that fighter…as long as that thing's leading them, the Harvesters have us right where they want us to be!"

--

In the Nirvana…

Duero and Dylan were busy tending to the wounded, but with most of the easier to handle cases placed in recovery…they now had to contend with the current case before them. The Dread Squadron leader, Meia Gisborn was in a seriously bad state when both medics were ordered by Magno to help in bringing her to the Medical Bay after they got word she had been severely injured and in critical condition.

And the estimation was correct…she had a fractured femur on the left leg, several broken ribs, lacerations, a severe head wound and a possible hairline fracture. That plus the amounts of blood she lost would have been disaster had the brothers not gotten there in time to get her back to the ship for medical treatment.

They had already removed her chest padding and also her flight suit, they didn't pay any attention to Meia's now naked form, included her breasts since they were on full doctor mode and were only concerned with healing and stabilizing her condition. They were so intent on this task that they failed to get the falling circlet off Meia's face and see the tears flowing down her face as she seemed to be slipping into her dreams.

"Mother…"

--

The battle outside…

"Dread Team A! Use Alpha Formation! Team B…"

Jura tried to think up of a next step but the situation was getting even more complicated as the fight grew…another difficulty that the pirates were facing, namely the Dread pilots was the fact that the debris was had also messed with their ability to signal and detect each other…resulting in mixed communication signals and friendly fire incidents as some Dreads ended up hitting or being by their comrades…resulting in even more mix-ups and confusion.

Buzam and Magno were able to tap into communications and listen in on the various things happening outside of the ship as the shields continued to hold off the attacks as best they could. Bart had originally requested permission to flee, but the bridge officers naturally placed that idea in the incinerator as they glared at the cowardly cadet. As they listened in the various communiqués…the chaos of the entire battle was evident in the voices of the pilots.

"Where is everyone?!"

"Who's in charge of D Team?!"

"I can't get Gasco's order!!"

"Ahhh!! Why are you shooting at ME?!"

"Help! I've been hit!!"

"Jura! The whole formation you ordered is making things worse!! Do something!!"

"I know! I know! Give me a minute will you?!"

"At the rate this fight is going…we're lucky to even get one!!"

"Argh!!"

It wasn't just the Dread pilots and the squadrons though, even the Engineering Bay and the Register were feeling the stress…as the crews began to make mistakes and orders were getting messed up. Parfait managed tog et everyone in her staff to calm down, while Gascogne managed quite well to calm her girls.

"Easy Girls…what's our motto here again?"

The girls all smiled and replied.

"Smile! Smile!"

"Good, keep you're cool, no sense losing your cool and making it worse."

"Yes!"

Magno and Buzam had their minds on the entire situation with their pilots as the calls kept coming in, and there they realized a very serious flaw in their plans and stratagems and that was the lack of a capable leader for the Dread pilots should Meia ever be incapacitated.

"This was our fault…we relied on Meia too much and in doing so we never got Jura or anyone else trained well enough to take her place in case of emergencies such as what had just happened."

The silver haired and bronze skinned woman said as she listened into the chaos of the whole situation.

Not entirely ours Buzam, it's because she wouldn't let us try…she always wanted to do things herself ever since she joined the pirates, and no matter what happened…she always wanted to do things until she could no longer do them."

(Meia…don't give up now…we still need you here, don't give up now.)

The elder woman said silently, while offering a prayer to her world's Goddesses for Meia's safe return.

Ironically enough, the only group that were not on panic mode were none other than Brandon and his siblings. Their five years of fighting on the ground and in space had made them very capable in fire-fights like this one, plus their discipline, team work, and experience won through.

Lance finally arrived to where Dita was and contacted her.

"Hey Dita! We need to combine now…get ready!"

The redhead was a bit startled, namely by the fact that this was their first time Lance willingly combined his Liger with her Dread.

"Uh…okay!"

Both Dread and Liger combined and out came ZoidDread Dita, the Liger moved about and tracked the alien fighter and the canons began to warm up and power flowed into the weapons, both Dita and Lance began to focus their ZoidDread's targeting computer and lock-on systems…and waited…

And waited…

And waited…

And then…they ducked…

In truth the whole ZoidDread had to duck as another asteroid careened at them and nearly tore into them. The ZoidDread growled in disappointment and frustration, just like Lance was also feeling a slightly bit on the edge…he and Dita nearly had a perfect lock on and use their more powerful cannons…but the entire environment around them was too inhibitive.

"Darn it! The entire asteroid field is making it hard as hell to lock on the damned fighter and taking it out…not to mention it's using the asteroids themselves like shields!"

Brandon then contacted his youngest sibling.

"Any chance you can destroy the entire area to flush him out?"

Lance shook his head.

"Bad idea brother, the debris might hit the Dreads and the ship…plus it would make things even more complicated at this point, the only chance we can have is if we…"

It was then that Jura's Dread flew next to the ZoidDread and Zarreke…however the blonde was not there to contribute any ideas. Her frustration at her failure as the second in command of the Dreads ate at her patience and she too hoped that the brothers could end this…and the result was enough to make her temper flare up as she got into contact with Lance in the ZoidDread.

"Nice going! You let that thing get away too! Was that the plan you men could come up with? Is that all you men are capable of doing or what?"

Lance was not in the mood to be needled and barded at by Jura and naturally he reacted in a heated tone, just as Kail roared in front of the Dread's cockpit.

"I don't see YOU coming up with a plan either! When YOU learn how to lead your own comrades better…then you can say something…until you do…back off!"

"Why you!!"

Rikera then showed up as the Crimson Armored Zoid blocked it's brother Zoid and the Dread.

"Easy you two! We're on the same side here! We're not going to get anything done if we start arguing with one another!"

Jura glared at Scott and replied.

"Stay out of this!"

Lance however calmed down and agreed with his middle brother and guided the ZoidDread off to support the Dreads with it's weapons.

Jura was not about to let this slide and was about to say some more words, until Scott cut her off with a glare.

"Listen Jura…my brother has a point…until you get you're act together and lead you're fellow fighters better…you have no say in how he handles things."

"I…I…I can't do this! I can't be…" Jura was on the verge of tears and moved her Dread back away from the fight and made a beeline for the Nirvana.

Scott shook his head as he followed Jura…making sure the blonde didn't get ambushed by the Harvesters, the last thing they needed at this point was Jura incapacitated like Meia…even she didn't have the same level of skill as Meia did, she had her own talents, that much Scott could tell. But since she seemed to have never led the Dreads before, she didn't develop any leadership experience since the pirates relied too much on Meia to lead them into battle, and this had stunted Jura's chances to learn how to be a leader, this also made her easy to making the wrong calls and decisions.

He may not show it, but the one thing he didn't like seeing was a woman being reduced to tears when she could not be as good as her comrades who were leaders…and the lashing she got from his youngest brother certainly didn't help matters in the very least.

--

In the Nirvana's Medical Bay…

Meia however was not aware of just how difficult the situation had become for her fellow pirates…she was now dealing with the past life she once had…long before she was part of the crew of the Nirvana.

In her memories… years before she was where she was now…she had a different life…she was the daughter of two famous scientists, both her Ohma and Fahma were dedicated in improving the state of living conditions in their sector of Megele and their own colony. She recalled the day she was born, and when she was growing up, she recalled all the happy times she had, going to school, and being with her parents when they were being interviewed by other women who kept track of their work.

She had a good life, famous as the only daughter of two renowned scientists. She also recalled the time she got the very same circlet she wore as a gift from her Ohma one Christmas day and she wore it for a very long time.

But there were fights between her parents and she recalled the pain those brought on, and the words she had with both her Ohma and her Fahma exchanged. Those were not very pleasant to her…but they were there…

All that changed however…

Dylan was busy working with the incoming patients along with Paiway…but both realized that this was a very dangerous situation involving Meia. The injuries had been healed, however a fragment of crystal from her Dread had been able to lodge itself into her skull and was giving off some energy emissions that were merging slightly with Meia's brainwave patterns, while not harmful as of now…this would result in Meia being unable to recover…however, removing it by conventional methods was out of the question since it would injure Meia's already fragile mental state.

Duero was on the case and was tying to come up with a workable solution to the whole situation, but until he could, the only thing they could do was keep Meia from slipping away into a comatose stage of become a vegetable. But losing Meia was not a viable or acceptable option in either case.

That was when Duero had an idea…but he needed help from an outsider in the medical field.

"Paiway!"

"Yes?"

"Tell Parfait to get here as quickly as she can…we will need her help if we need to help Meia before it is too late!"

The young nurse wasted no time and quickly got hold of the plucky head engineer.

--

In Meia's mind…

The peace was never to last in her mind…one day horrible things began to happen all over the station, explosions and fires began to happen and new reports in their home said something horrible had happened during her Ohma's work. She recalled seeing her Ohma coming back home with a very fearful expression on her face as she told her and her Fahma to leave the station immediately. That was the last she ever saw her Ohma…

She recalled running to the evacuation center with her Fahma…and it was there that she developed her fear of dark and closed spaces…her Fahma pushed her ahead with all the other children, who's own parents did the same since there were not enough escape pods to fill all the survivors, so only the daughters of the women would survive. She recalled reaching out and begging her Fahma to come with her, to live together, but her Fahma refused…saying that she cannot go with her this time, she ad to stay here.

She recalled saying that she would stay then with her, but it was never meant to be as her Fahma told her that this was for the best…just as the hatch closed and she was plunged into darkness…this made her grow into fearing dark and closed spaces.

As soon as Parfait arrived in the Medical Bay, Duero outlined his strategy on removing the crystal shard in Meia's mind without resorting to dangerous surgery, however, even without surgery it would still be very risky either way…but they didn't have much in terms of option to begin with.

--

In the Register…

The battle was still raging like mad outside as the reserve Dread Squadrons were now being sent out to hold the line, the younger pilots, some of them were members of the newly formed ground operations team went off in newly fueled and armed Dreads to maintain the defensive lines until the veterans were prepared to fight once their Dreads were now fully fueled, repaired and re-armed.

However, once certain Dread pilot was in physical or mental shape to be out there in the fight. Jura's spirit was crushed after her colossal blunder with the Dread Formations and she naturally retreated into her own shell as she sat down in a corner in the Register.

"I…I…I can't…replace…Meia!" The blonde said with sorrow and fear. She never had any opportunity to lead the Dreads, and her lack of experience had gotten the others in a dangerous mess.

"You're not expected to."

Jura looked up and spotted Gascogne who looked at her with some sympathy as she explained something important to the depressed blonde pilot.

"You're not being asked to lead the Dreads the way Meia does Jura, nobody expects you to lead them in the same fashion, you have to lead them in your own way and we will always be right beside you to help out."

"Good point Miss Gascogne."

The women turned to spot Lance and his other brother, Scott on the screens.

"Look, I want to apologize for the verbal lashing you got from me before. The stress is getting me too, but you didn't deserve that. I rather prefer to take out my enemies than those on my side. "

Gascogne continued to speak as she consoled the blonde pilot.

"We're in this together and you need to do what you believe is the right thing and don't compare yourself to Meia or try to emulate her. Be yourself and do what you feel is right and lead."

"That's true." Scott said as well. "Neither my brothers or I had the desire to be leaders of the ground operations unit before, but we knew it had to be done for the good of the crew, we have our own skills and we train them in our own fashion, you also have the same potential, so don't worry if you're first attempt was not a successful one, get back up, dust off the dirt and try again until you succeed…nothing, whether success or experience is gained by giving up just because you made mistakes. You don't look at mistakes as the end of things, learn from them and grow."

Brandon then showed up as well.

"We'll hold the line here until you and the others are ready to go back on the fight…don't give up and keep fighting Jura… and heed Scott' advice or else my middle brother here might start losing interest in you."

Scott reacted with a both a look of embarrassment and a glare at his eldest brother. Lance also grinned at the teasing look Brandon gave Scott.

"Aw shut up bro! Now's not the time for this sort of thing!!"

Really…you acted like you're really friendly with…"

"Can it already!!"

Scott said with a blush…making even Gascogne laugh…and even Jura, despite her tears began to smile at the look of embarrassment on the middle sibling's face…he looked somewhat…nice when he blushed.

She thought about what the brothers said as they signed off…later, the blonde got off the floor and began to make some plans when she and the rest of her squadrons would be back in the game.

--

In the Medical Bay…

"Do you really think this will work?"

Paiway asked nervously along with Parfait as the two women looked at the machine that she had built with her spare parts and according to Duero and Dylan's specifications. The device was designed to create a harmonic energy pulse that could create enough energy to destroy the fragment of Paeksis crystal that was in Meia's mind…however it had several dangerous complications.

The first was that in order to do this they would have to cause Meia more pain, both physically and mentally, since the energy would affect her body and mind simultaneously, and in turn injure her, but also stop her from going into a comatose state and also allow her to regain consciousness now that her wounds were healed…however, should it fail then her mind would be shattered and even if she did recover and the device failed to remove the crystal and cause further mental damage and trauma, along with flat lining her entirely…she would be either dead or in a vegetative state for the rest of her life should she not die.

"Honestly…we don't know…but if nothing is done to save her now…then we will lose her anyway."

Duero responded as he placed the device close to Meia's head while Dylan placed on the connectors with their adhesive tabs on the young woman's forehead.

"But what if it goes wrong?! We can't lose Meia!" The young girl said with tears threatening to flow down her face.

"If we do nothing…then we lose her anyway." Dylan replied as he checked her vital stats.

"But we can't…!!"

"Let them do it Paiway…"

The group turned to see Magno's face on the monitor, she looked tired and care-worn, making her look more aged than her normal years would show.

"But…"

"We have to trust them Paiway…"

Paiway still didn't like the idea of leaving Meia to the care of both Duero and Dylan since she was not sure they knew what they were doing, and they themselves admitted that there was a chance their plan would fail…but realizing that it was their only remaining option to save Meia…she stepped aside and silenced her protests.

--

In Meia's mind…

She now saw herself after the events that happened after she had been rescued from the pod after it was found. The disaster had left many lives ruined, and hers was the most affected. Since the disaster was placed on the shoulders of her Ohma, she was now looked upon with ridicule and distrust, many young women her age called her nothing but rabble and trash, she once had the respect and understanding of others, but ever since the failure and disaster, her life had been ripped apart as she struggled to survive in the streets, stealing what food she could to live…in the streets she hid her appearance but the ones on the street knew her enough to know who she was and she could hear their whispers and ridicule.

"That's her…the one from the news…"

"Hah! She's not so popular now is she?"

"She's nothing but trash now!"

"Good riddance…her Ohma and Fahma were failures anyway."

She recalled joining street gangs and fighting with those she met that ridiculed her, that was how she learned how to fight in hand to hand combat, she used her anger, and skills to carve a living for herself in the mean streets, she recalled drinking and eating to her heart's content due to the fights she had own…but in the silence when she was by herself she recalled the pits of despair and hopelessness she had in her mind…

The dreams and hopes she once had were now gone and the only goal she now had in her life…was to end it forever.

--

Outside of the Nirvana…

The explosions coming from the enemy forces' weaponry continued to fill the void of space as the pirates still maintained their lines, but they were still out maneuvered by the alien fighter in the lead of the strike force of the Harvesters. With no way to attack properly the target due to the debris that filled the area, the Dreads were forced to fight in the defensive to prevent more damage from occurring to the ship…the shields were steadily being broken down by a wave of assault fire from the Cube Fighters and the alien fighter unit that darted in and out of the firing zone…using it's beam weapons to make things more of a head-ache for the pirates…and the Reinhart siblings.

The youngest brother gave a snarl of controlled anger as the fighter attacked the ZoidDread he and Dita piloted and darted away since it's weapons were not enough to damage the armor plating of both the Zoid's CAS Armor and the Dread plating.

"That cowardly idiot is really starting to get on my nerves."

The younger brother had just about enough of that unit and was about to plan something important when he noted the posture of his fellow ZoidDread operator, having been around women in his world and having grown up with them, unlike the men of Talark, the young man figured out that she was very close to tears and this was the last thing he wanted to see at this point and time.

"Hey…how are you holding up?"

Dita sobbed a bit and looked at Lance with sad eyes as she knew abut what had happened to Meia before and she was really depressed.

"I'm scared…really scared Mr. Alien…will we…will we be all right?"

Lance didn't like the look Dita had on her face…it seriously didn't suit the bubbly redhead to be this withdrawn. Despite her somewhat annoying antics…he didn't find it very appealing to see her like that.

"Don't be scared…listen, we are going to find a way out of this mess and we're going to be fine…you can trust me on that."

"But what about Leader? What about Meia? She's not here and we're really in a bad way…"

"Listen…I may not know Meia very well and we don't see eye to eye on some things…but I can say that she will not like you being so depressed about things right now…she'll be all right, You have to trust Duero and Dylan…they know what they have to do and they need out help to do what they can to save Meia. We have to protect the Medical Bay and the ship so we can protect not just Meia, but the others as well. We will not give up here and we will win this battle, you have my word on that."

Dita sniffled and wiped her tears away with a smile.

"Thank you Mr. Alien!"

Lance couldn't help but sigh and speak with a pained tone at Dita with a look of exasperation.

"How many times do I have to tell you…my name is NOT Mr. Alien?!"

That was when Jura's voice came on the comm.-channels to everyone and she seemed a lot more confident now and less depressed, namely from the way she began to give the order of operations to the rest of the Dreads.

"All Dread pilots! Begin changing you're machines energy frequencies for both energy shields and beam weapons, that will minimize the chance of friendly fire."

"Good choice…that at least will cut down the risk of the Dreads hitting each other"

Lance nodded in agreement with Brandon's assessment, but this would still not be enough, the fact that their beam weapons were not attuned to the frequencies of the Dreads' shields and weapons meant that they were the highest risk of committing friendly fire. So the only chance they would have is to make an assault that would wipe out the enemy in one fell strike, and prevent the fast moving alien fighter from doing the usual run away and strike back routine.

That was when Lance had a rather interesting idea…if the Harvesters wanted to make an all out assault…they might as well let come in…with wide open arms…

He quickly contacted his brothers and all three of them considered Lance's idea…along with the Organoid Cores of their Liger ZERO Zoids. The others thought that this was going to seriously require precise timing, and fortunately for them…they had just the right types of weapons for this kind of a plan…they only hoped that it was going to work…they only had one shot to get this all right.

--

On the bridge…

Magno gave a sigh as more bad news came to the bridge. The aft section of the ship's arm had just suffered more damage and the ships' energy shields were beginning to reach level 4, once that level of shielding gave out, then they would be totally helpless in an attack…and now it seemed that the Harvesters would be coming back with one final assault…things were very grim now.

That was when Lance came in the screen with a grin on his face.

"I have a plan that just might work on how we can finally take those annoying enemies of ours in one fell swoop."

The elder woman looked at the youngest of the siblings with a very curious look on her face. The woman was not yet aware of just exactly what the youngest brother had in mind so she was naturally rather curious since there seemed to be nearly no alternative to the mess they were in.

"What exactly do you boys have in mind? A suicide mission?"

"Not in the least Captain…we're going to let them come to us instead of wasting time chasing them."

"What?"

Jura then came on the screen.

"You guys can't be serious!! We're supposed to keep them AWAY from the Nirvana…not let them come close enough to attack us!"

Brandon cut in. "That's not what we meant Jura…we let them come closer…and closer…and closer…"

"Until they walk right into our arms…or in Zoid speak, our claws and teeth. Just like a certain snake would lie and wait, and let it's enemies get closer, take little bites of it, and not move, and then when it's foes attack…it strikes when they least expect it." Scott finished with a grin.

Magno nodded as she saw where the plan was heading to.

"We use ourselves as the bait to lure them into the trap and then when they are in the right range we pounce on them like a storm. How do you plan on doing that…even with all the Dreads, we don't have enough fire-power for that, even you're Zoids have limited firepower."

"True…but we do have OTHER machines in our arsenals."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that if this works…the Harvesters are about to become meat to the wolves in dinner time. We need to get our Zoid pilots into the other Zoids we have in our arsenals…those are just perfect for the task at hand…and the plan in mind."

Magno thought about it and seeing the seriousness of the brothers' expressions told her that this would be the only option they have, and seeing that time was soon going to be against them, she agreed.

"Estimated time of the Harvester attack?" She asked her bridge crew as they monitored the fight.

"We have several minutes Captain…maybe five or eight minutes." Buzam answered.

"What do you need?"

"We need to arm up the Dreads with as much heavy missiles that you can spare but not inhibit their mobility and, have them pack more power to their beam weapons. Jura and the other Dread pilots will need to follow our mark to unleash every weapon on the specified target sectors so we have maximum range coverage. Our Zoid squadron should be positioned as quickly as possible to these designated locations and use the asteroids as cover."

Barnette appeared and shouted.

"Hold it! The Dreads are not part of you're group here!? Why do we have to agree with this plan of yours anyway?!"

"Either we use this plan or we're all dead, take you're pick."

Magno was silent for only a few moments and then gave her decision.

"You have my permission." She then turned and called Buzam.

"BC! Have Gascogne refit all the Dreads with our heavy missiles and have them upgrade the power converters of their beam weapons immediately!"

Buzam nodded and placed forward the order to the Register…she too had some doubts but knew that at this point in time, they had no other options.

--

Duero and Dylan went ahead and prayed that their plan would work as the device began to hum with energy as it was charged up, Meia still was stable but her brain-wave patterns were still helpful…beside the two medic, Paiway and Parfait could also do nothing but hope as they watched.

Meia then recalled the spiral of her life, until the day came that she met three women who gave her a choice…to die without a purpose…or to die for something. She recalled looking up and saw the Captain Magno Vivian, Buzam, and Gascogne….ever since that day she now was the best Dread pilot in the pirate group…and now she wondered just what else she could do in this life.

--

The Dreads had now been re-armed and out of the Nirvana the other Zoids that the three brothers had said were perfect for the job. The bands of Zoids were of several types…

One was a massive gorilla like Zoid with several powerful looking weapons mounted on the back…and it was armed to the teeth with large amounts of missiles. The women were shocked to see this Zoid as it lumbered out and was now assigned for them to use…their distaste for it's appearance was very obvious, but considering their choice of options, they didn't waste time complaining s they boarded the Zoids and they followed the directions handed to them by the three siblings.

The other resembled a massive lizard that stood it's hind legs and had a nasty row teeth and very big claws and a large tail. It was covered with heavy armor and carried a slew of powerful guns, both heavy solid projectile guns, and a large number of laser and beam cannons. The sheer look of being a dinosaur was enough for the women in the Dreads and the Nirvana to know that despite it's looks it was machine that they would have to be foolish to look down upon. The Zoid types also moved to designated positions near the debris and the Nirvana.

The next was a powerful bull-like Zoid with wide horns and a massive array of beam artillery mortars, solid cannons and artillery cannons, those appeared to the only ranged weapon system possessed by the bull-like Zoids as they began to take combat positions.

As the Zoids were now in position…the brothers began a counter on the time it would take for the Harvester forces to launch their attack. They planned to let the enemy come close enough to walk right into a massive weapon barrage, with Lance and Dita in their ZoidDread being the first to open fire. The Iron Kongs, the Gojulas, and the Dibisons would unleash a massive barrage, along with the Dreads with their beam cannons and their missiles. They also were to target not just the Harvester Forces, but the asteroids as well…to increase the numbers of debris and crush the remainder of the Harvesters as they closed in.

"All right...Jura, Barnette, we'll give the signal to our Zoid teams to open fire…in less than a second after they fire…have all the Dreads open up and don't let up."

Lance said as he made some last minute calculations and ran the simulation once more and made sure to check for any slip ups. He knew that no plan, no matter how well thought out was not going to always win first off the bat, but this was the only plan they could come up with.

Since he was the one who came up with the plan, he had to take point…his brothers were on the leadership ladder as they took command of the Zoid teams, to ensure that they fired on his command at the exact moment. As soon as he got the signal they were ready, the bridge crew told them that they now detected the signals of the Harvesters, showing that the forces of their enemy was now ready to attack them.

"All right, all squadrons check in…it's time."

The first responses to his call came from the Zoid squadrons, as his eldest siblings checked the position and weapon readiness of their respective squadrons, and allowed their second in command to call it out.

"Team Alpha Ready!"

"Team Bravo Ready!"

After some initial reluctance…the Dread teams called out their own responses.

"A Team Ready!"

"B Team Ready!"

"C Team Ready!"

"D Team Ready!"

Jura then called in as she too readied her own Dread for the fight that they were all about to get themselves into. From her tone and volume…the youngest brother knew that she was ready for this…and it was kind of surprising to hear that the flighty blonde lady speak now when she set her mind to it…she sounded very strong in both thought and action.

"All Dreads are ready Lance, say the word and we'll do what you ask of us."

That was when another voice came on the comm. system.

"I hope this plan of yours works…if it doesn't… then I will hold and you're brothers very much responsible for the disaster we'll be in!"

Barnette's tone showed her still lingering and very much active distrust, hatred, and wariness of men in general. The brothers hoped that this would soon disappear since the last thing the entire crew needed was a break down in the alliance between the men and women on the Nirvana with all the fighting they have to do.

"If it comes to that, why not? All right, everyone, wait until they are in range and hold you're positions…on the count of zero…unleash all you're firepower."

In that same moment, the Harvesters led the charge and were now attacking the Nirvana. They were now being tracked by both the Nirvana crew and Lance as he activated the count down.

"Ten…"

The Harvesters began to unleash their fire-power on the Dreads, and the three Liger Zero Zoids, unaware of the plan and the hidden Zoids that were waiting for them to draw ever closer. The barrier of the Nirvana took more of the damage, and was still holding on…though barely.

"Nine…eight…seven…"

The barrage continued…until the barriers could take no more of the attacks and fell down, exposing the ship to the attacks of the alien Harvesters, and took several direct hits on areas on the ship. Bart screamed in pan and asked when will the plan start as he tried not to lose and get himself killed, along with the others.

"six…five…four…"

In the same moment as the plan, the desperate plan to save Meia's life reached it's final stage as she screamed as the device that could save her life was activated. She struggled and tried to escape as arcs of energy covered her upper form for a few minutes, and her actions and screams made everyone in the Medical Bay tense up in worry and fear. After a minute and a half of the treatment, her body stiffened up and fell back on the bed…her life-signs were all in the one setting no medic ever wanted to hear…a flat-line.

"MEIA!!" Both Parfait and Paiway screamed.

"I can't take anymore of this!" Dita cried out as she saw the damage that was beginning to affect even the powerful armor skin of the ZoidDread that she and Lance piloted…some of the other women also complained briefly as they too managed to take some hits.

Lance however was not deterred as he continued to track the Harvesters while placing a calming hold on Dita's shoulder and smiled at her. The redhead couldn't help but feel safe and…something else…warm as she felt Lance's non-verbal signal to her that everything will be fine. He then continued with the count-down.

"Three…two…"

The Harvesters had sped up their attack and charged head on…expecting to have the Nirvana and the pirates in their grasp…unaware of the fact that they had just walked right into the kill-zone!!

"one…OPEN FIRE!!"

The ZoidDread was the first to unleash the full might of it's weapons as the energy blades fused with the cannons and the weapons charged up with massive amounts of pure energy.

"NOVA STORM!!"

The massive barrage of both beam and missile fire ripped into the Harvester ranks and at that same instant, the Iron Kongs, Dibisons, and Gojulas attacked, firing the full power of their arsenals…and after that…merely a second, the Dreads unleashed their own barrage.

The end result was a wave of weaponry that would scare the living daylights of anyone or anything caught in the path as there were missiles, solid rounds, and energy rounds everywhere, the storm ripped into the Harvesters and the first wave was instantly torn apart…the second and third groups fared little better. The survivors of the Harvester's attempted strike retreated, along with the high speed fighter…

However, Lance's plan to have a portion of the ambush force fire at the asteroids had worked. The massive barrages from the Dreads, and Zoids ripped into the space rock fields and they were blown apart…the explosions and the moving debris slammed into the remaining asteroids, and like dominos, the asteroids began smashing into each other…and crushed anything in their way…namely the Harvesters that tried to use the asteroids as shields.

Seed Ships were either ripped apart or crushed into nothing gouged and torn metal as they exploded, Cube Fighters fared little better as they were crushed flat by the moving debris or ripped apart by the small but faster moving fragments. Even the ultra-fast alien fighter was consumed as it was never designed to dodge multiple attacks all at once in succession.

Lance's plan had worked…

The pirates in the ship, the Zoids, and the Dreads could not believe their good fortune and the plan they once thought was insane had really worked. The battle had been won and they were the victors.

Brandon and Scott listened to the cheers and merely smiled as they contacted both Dita and Lance. They were highly amused to see Lance blushing to the point his face's color was like that of Dita's hair…or that would have been partially it since Dita had turned and impulsively glomped on their sibling and snuggled up to him with a smile on her face.

"Good work you two! And bro…you want us to prepare you two a…"

Lance mouthed the words 'Shut up!' as he squirmed uncomfortably at the feel of Dita's slender, and buxom form on his own.

--

The bridge…

"I can't believe his plan worked!" Buzam said with wonder as the bridge crew scanned the area as the explosions died down and reported no sign of the Harvesters…they had been totally wiped out…and the asteroid field had been cleared of the largest debris…making for safe passage.

"It did…they really thought this through. I guess we'll have one heck of a celebration to plan later." Magno said with a smile, but she then got off her chair and made her way to the Medical Bay.

--

Meia felt a calm in her that seemed so right, there was no pain, there was no fear, no nightmares…nothing…nothing but blackness and silence…she was away from all the pain in her life…she could just stay here and end it all.

"Meia…please don't give up on life…that is not like my little girl to be giving up now."

The voice was very easy for the shocked woman to recognize…even if it had been many years since she heard the gentle, mature, and kind voice…she knew instantly who called her.

"Mother? MOTHER?!"

Meia then looked about and then the blackness was replaced with the green fields she ran in when she was still just a young girl…when things were not as painful and as dark as they were after the disaster that took her and her Ohma. She then turned to see her Fahma in a white sleeveless sundress and her favorite hat with a blue ribbon on it.

Meia tried to run to her, and she found that she could move quickly, just like she would be able to do on the ground, or anywhere else…she didn't waste time in figuring out the situation she was in…all she cared about was reaching her mother.

As she reached her mother, she tried to hug her and found that this was no ordinary vision as she could feel her mother…the gentle woman smiled at her daughter and hugged her as well…making Meia break down, gone was the tough, strong, proud, feisty, independent, and focused Dread Squadron Leader, and the one who butted heads constantly with the eldest of the Reinhart siblings…but the young and vulnerable woman she was before all that had happened…she cried tears and swore never to let go of her Fahma.

Meia's mother chuckled warmly and spoke to her daughter.

"Meia…I know how happy you are to see me…and I am just as happy to finally hold you again…but I cannot remain here forever."

"Please! Don't leave me alone here! I…please let me stay with you… let me join you"

"No Meia…this place is not for one who still lives…no matter how much I also wish you to be with me…there is so much left for you to live for."

Meia cried harder and looked at her mother with tear filled eyes.

"What else is there for me in being alive mother? I have seen so many horrible things, I have been struggling for so long, and all the pain I have in me ever since you died. I don't have anything left to live for."

"Do you? There are many people in you're who will be sad to see you give up and pass away now? What of them? Will you leave them alone?"

The field changed into images of the people on the ship, Meia saw their faces and recalled their parts in the life she had lived in after she had joined the pirates. Dita, Jura, Captain Magno, Buzam, Gascogne, Paiway, Parfait…She then recalled the times she had worked with them and saw them as they worked with her…and she felt…whole as if the holes she had in her soul were filled up.

Even the men on the ship were present. She saw Bart an his idiotic expressions, Duero on when he spoke to her about what she could do to help deal with the dangers of her claustrophobia, Dylan who spoke seriously about what she should not do in order to not endanger herself and others, and when the medic tended to her injuries…she then saw the three brothers, Lance when he was dealing with Dita's energetic nature and her affectionate curiosity, but also how cheerful and strong he was in the presence of his siblings, Scott with his calm demeanor, unless Jura was scheming to combine with him, in which he was very much very careful, his smirk and teasing manner when he and his brother Brandon would tease their youngest brother…and Brandon himself, on his focused and serious personality, his tough nature, courage and determination to protect his brothers…as she recalled the very heated confrontation between the two of them.

Meia then faced her mother who smiled warmly and wiped away her tears with her hand and her mother spoke to her.

"Life is always mixed with pain, with sadness, and more…but that does not mean all of it is bad Meia…there is faith, happiness, friendship, forgiveness, trust, compassion…love. I know that you still hurt inside and I wish that I was with you the day that I placed you in that capsule…but I knew that a future waited for you…no matter what, I want you to never forget that as a living person, you have every right and the power to make your own way n the world. So the choice is yours Meia."

"What choice mother?"

The green fields changed into a dark field that stretched for miles and on one side was a small speck of light.

"The choice of you're path in life…will you walk into the darkness of death, become free of pain, fear, and sadness…but be forever in shadow and no chance to change and make your own path in the universe? Or will you walk into the light of life…full of pain, fear, sadness…but be in the light and be free to make your own way and forge your own future? I cannot make that choice for you Meia, you alone can make that choice…you are so strong now…more than I hoped and dreamed of you to become."

Meia looked at her mother and cried.

"Will I see you again? Or will you leave me alone again?"

Her mother smiled warmly and placed her right hand on Meia's heart and replied with motherly affection and warmth.

"I am always with you Meia…even if now I will no longer be with you, I am here…in you're heart as long as you feel life and never forget me. Whatever choice you make…I will always be with you."

Meia wiped away her tears and looked at her choice…spend it in the darkness and free of all suffering, but be denied a future…or to walk into the light and have more suffering, but have a future and a chance for happiness as long as she lived and remained strong.

Meia made her choice…

--

Medical Bay…

Dylan nodded with a smile and a sigh of explosive relief as he read Meia's vital signs…and the monitors showed good heart beat and breathing rates, plus healthy scans and normal brain-wave activity.

"She's stabilizing…she should be waking up…"

"It's so bright in here…" Meia said weakly as she opened her green eyes and adjusted to the light of the Medical Bay.

"…right about now." Duero finished…his own smile evident, both medics were relieved that their patient was recovering nicely.

Immediately a pair of very worries crew members appeared before the now recovered Dread Squadron Leader.

"You're back!" Paiway sobbed with tears in her eyes.

"We were so worried Meia! We though we lost you!" Parfait said…with tears in her own eyes.

Meia couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the display of relief and happiness in the young nurse and the chief engineer.

"Stop that, you two…wait…" Meia felt her face and panicked when she could not feel the circlet she wore on many times..

"Don't worry…it's still here." Duero said as he showed Meia's most prized possession on a nearby table.

The medic then handed the item back to it's owner. "It must be very important to you for you to be concerned over it so much."

Meia held the circlet and replied.

"Not in that way…in truth…it is a lesson."

"Then I hope you learned something from it Meia…you gave us quite a scare." Magno said gently as the aged female Captain smiled and walked over to the young woman.

Meia nodded and politely greeted the Captain. "Captain…how is the battle…did we?"

"Win? Yes…and it was due to the efforts of not just you're fellow pirates, but of Brandon and his siblings as well…they came up with the plan, or rather Brandon's youngest brother Lance came up with the plan that saved us from disaster."

"Really?"

Meia asked...a bit peeved that this was another debt her crew-members and comrades owed the Reinhart siblings…but she was happy to know that everything was all right.

"Yeah it was my brother's plan…and I guess you might already know who saved you from being killed by that high speed interceptor."

Brandon Reinhart said as he revealed himself to the still bed ridden Dread Squadron Leader. He was leaning on the wall with his arms on his chest in a patient look as he scrutinized the young woman.

"You rescued me…" Meia said evenly as she looked at Brandon.

The eldest sibling didn't say much as he uncrossed his arms and walked to the door, but not before he looked at Meia with what was relief in his eyes.

"You don't need to worry about it or say anything…and it's good to see you too Meia."

--

Later…

Meia was getting restless as she was in her room…on the nearby table was a plate of nearly finished food from the galley, that dish had been brought to her by Dita who was so happy to see her back on her feet.

As she decided to not stay in her room and got dressed…she looked at her circlet and…a picture of herself and her fahma and ohma…she looked hard at the image of herself and her family and sighed.

"Mother…I hope that I made the right choice…" The aqua-haired teen said silently to herself as she walked out of the room.

As she arrived in the galley…the Dread Squadron pilots were there, along with the chosen Zoid pilots…and on the tables were large platters of food and bottles everywhere…she heard that it was quite the victory feast…and the young woman knew that they would be reeling from the results.

Normally she would be disappointed in the drop of discipline in her fellow Dread pilots and any of the crew that were really out of it…but tonight she allowed it…after all they deserved it, they won a terrible battle with great risks…and without her…

Oddly she didn't feel cheated of victory…she then spotted Lance and Scott, the middle brother was snoring a bit as he slept on the table with an empty plate near him, she then noticed the close proximity of a certain blonde companion of hers to the middle Reinhart sibling, along with Barnette who despite her sleepiness was watching over her companion. The youngest of the Zoid pilots was on another table...sleeping as well, with several plates nearby…and the sleeping redhead near him.

She wondered for a bit as to where the eldest of the Reinhart brothers were…he would have been celebrating with his brothers after the battle, but put that aside for now as she looked a small cotton table cover and used it as a makeshift blanket to cover her apprentice Dread pilot. She did the same to Jura and Barnette and thought about all that had happened today…and the weeks before.

"They contributed to the cooking and the women were eating as well…even if they were fighting just as hard…or more than us…Brandon and his siblings took the time to cook something for us all to celebrate with. They were tired…but they earned this break…they all did."

"Where is he?" The young Dread leader asked as she wondered where Brandon was.

"He is in the Bio-Park…but he had his own round of celebration before he left…it is really nice to see."

"Captain?"

"He is kind of a male version of you Meia…he can be just as strong willed, fearless, and tough as you Meia…but he does not hide his emotions when there is no need for him to do so. He leads with both heart, will and mind…and you know that he shows great loyalty to his brothers, as much as they do with him…and he cares for his squadron."

Meia nodded as she recalled hearing that Brandon cooked for his Zoid pilots, and was not hard to approach.

"Meia…I think it is time you try and be honest about how you felt and not always hide from feelings and being with others."

"Captain, what do you mean?"

"The weeks have been hard…and Brandon might have added to that, I heard and seen enough of the arguments between you two…but I think that you should open up a bit more…and maybe he would too…and as why…I can tell that he and his brothers have their own burdens to carry. I do not think they will speak of them to either me or the others…and I do not think I have the right to do so anyway. But it is time you got to knowing just who he really is

Meia thought about what the Captain said and wondered is she should do that.

--

In the Bio-Park…

Brandon burped a bit as he sat on a nearby bench and listened to the sounds of the artificial river and the smells of the Park. He sighed a bit as he looked at the stars outside at the viewing port. He then took out a picture from his pocket…in the picture was his family…he and his brothers when they were still young, their respective Organoids with them and before they had fused with their Blade Ligers, and most al, their father and mother were still together and the two were the doting parents that Brandon knew and loved them to be.

For a moment, the strong demeanor of the eldest sibling faded and he seemed happy…and very much sad.

He put aside the picture and looked at the stars with a sad, yet hopeful expression.

(Mom…are you still out there? Are you alive; are you safe…are you looking for us too? I have so many questions and so little answers to them. I wish you were here…Lance misses you, Scott misses you…I miss you…no matter how long it takes…we'll find you…I only hope you are safe…Lance and Scott are fine, they are kind of getting used to being the target boards of affection by several girls...though the women do take some getting used to. It's really hard for us on this ship…it's really a problem being stuck in a ship where all the women…well not ALL of them, think we're the enemy of their world. And it's hard for us to get used to all this…we're being hunted by aliens that want our organs…and for Gods only knows what. I hope that you are somewhere safe so we can find you. I sometimes wonder if we all can keep doing this…but I won't give up…I won't…neither will Scott and Lance…)

Brandon's train of thought was interrupted as his battle hardened senses told him that someone was coming, he quickly turned…but his combat posture relaxed a bit as he gazed at his new visitor…

"You're up already Meia?"

He asked as he relaxed himself more in the presence of the Dread pilot leader. He only hoped that she did not see him look like a lost and vulnerable child…he had been hardened by five years of constant struggle to let loose all of his emotions and feelings at once, he didn't need to break down in front of anyone…least of all his brothers, as much as they looked out for each other…he still had the big brother complex in him.

Meia had seen a slight glimpse of Brandon when he left his guard down and made his mental speech to his mother…though she knew nothing of it. And she recalled Magno's warning about not prodding too deeply at Brandon and his siblings about their past…but to get to know him more.

"Yes…Brandon, I want to talk about you saving me this day."

"I suppose I should have expected that…what do you want to tell me?"

"I...I want to…thank you for saving me."

Brandon expected Meia to say that he should have left her alone and she was going to berate him, and in turn he would give her another piece of his mind and tell her that she had more to live for than seeking out death…so naturally, the part of hearing her stay thank you to him for saving her…well… it was unexpected.

"You're…uh, welcome."

"And…I want to…apologize, for being very…uh…harsh and…not listening. Like this day…I should have combined my Dread with you're Liger…instead of…chasing it on my own and nearly dying."

Brandon couldn't help but wonder if he was talking to the real Meia Gisborn, but his senses told him that this woman before him was indeed the tough Dread pilot…he then smiled a bit, along with some humor. He could tell that admitting to such things was taxing on her pride…and he decided to let her know that he was very accepting of it.

"You're welcome on all counts Meia…to tell you the truth…you kind of surprised me with what you just did. I didn't expect you…doing the thank you and apologizing bit."

Meia glared at him a bit and frowned.

Brandon realized he hit a nerve and gave an apology.

"I don't mean that in a bad or insulting way…it was kind of…well, nice…and, honestly it tells me that there's a kinder side to the tough, independents and strong minded Dread Squadron Leader. I kind of find it nice."

Meia shook her head and sighed…but not before she looked at square in the eye.

"Don't think however that I'm going to forget that you still owe me a rematch between my Dread and you're Liger. I still say I can take you on."

Brandon raised an eye-brow at that statement and glared back with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"Really…as far as I recall on that note I had you in my Liger's jaws…"

"True…but I had my Dread's cannons aimed right at you're cockpit."

"I'll concede to that Meia…but if we ever face each other again, I doubt you get the chance to try that again!"

"Care to test the truth of that statement Brandon Reinhart?" Meia replied with a glare…not an angry glare…but a glare of challenge.

Brandon followed through and glared at the shorter Dread pilot.

"You are seriously asking for it aren't you?"

"What are YOU going to DO about it then?"

"Wouldn't YOU like to know?!"

Unknown to the bickering pair, a certain old woman and her second in command looked at them. Buzam hoped that this did not result in another dangerous face-off between the two pilots, though she actually looked forward to seeing another show of amazing piloting skill from the eldest Zoid pilot and their best Dread pilot.

Magno could not help but chuckle at the sight of the two arguing on the still hanging re-match between them.

(Not exactly what I had in mind…but at least they're not throwing punches at each other.)

--

To be continued…

--

Hi there! This is Brandon…well things seem to have eased up and that Harvester speed demon is gone.

Don't get too comfortable big brother, we've got a ground mission, and this will be the first time the ladies will taste land warfare …I hope they're ready.

Don't worry Lance…I think we all did a good enough job…considering the time spent.

That remains to be seen Scott… I just hope we don't get into another mess like the last time…what the heck is that?!

What bro…oh man!! What the heck is that thing?!

Never mind…ALL ZOIDS! WEAPONS FREE!! REPEAT WEAPONS FREE!! TAKE IT AND THE REST OF THEM OUT!!

Next time on ZoidDread…

Chapter 8- Battle Field Gauntlet! See you on the battlefield!

--

The next chapter will be the first ground mission the pirates will be involved in as they will now be using Zoids in land warfare. As to what they will face from the army of the Harvesters, that they use in ground based organ harvesting operations…that is a secret!

See you there!!


End file.
